Rotorua volleyball player Kahurangi Robinson (left) and Nate Moore, from Tauranga, have represented the country well at the Youth Olympics in China. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Rotorua volleyball player Kahurangi Robinson (left) and Nate Moore, from Tauranga, have represented the country well at the Youth Olympics in China. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Rotorua volleyball player Kahurangi Robinson and his playing partner Nate Moore, from Tauranga, have been knocked out of the Youth Olympics by Thailand.
Robinson, 17, and Moore, 18, made it through pool play in the men's beach volleyball competition in Nanjing before running into Thailand in the round of 24on Sunday.
Thailand's Surin Jongklang and Banlue Nakprakhong proved too strong for the New Zealand pairing, winning in two sets (21-11, 21-19).
Robinson and Moore wrote on their Facebook supporter page about the tough match.
"Getting up at 5am was never going to be easy but we pushed through to give it our best shot. First set we weren't in it whether it was a combination of nerves and sleepiness, it didn't happen and we went down," they wrote.
"The next set we came out with more of a fighting attitude and ... it ended up being 21-19 to Thailand who simply played very tidy volley with few mistakes."
The Bay of Plenty athletes performed well in pool play defeating Congo, Lithuania and Jamaica while dropping two matches to Brazil and Germany. Robinson currently attends Western Heights High School while Moore is from Mount Maunganui College.
