Canada’s Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson win Olympic beach volleyball opener

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson’s enjoyed a strong debut as Olympic beach volleyball teammates on Monday.

The Canadians beat Paraguay’s Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla 2-0 (21-16, 21-12) in Paris.

The former York University indoor teammates are ranked third in the world after joining forces in the aftermath of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where they played with different partners.

“As a new team, we’ve fairly quickly put targets on our backs by positioning ourselves as one of the top teams in the world,” Humana-Paredes told reporters Monday, per the Canadian Olympic Committee. “So I definitely think when people play us, they’re worried. You’ve got to be on your toes.

“It’s a great feeling but at the end of the day we’re here to play really good volleyball and focus on us.”

The Canadians have two silver medals in five World Tour events this year.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, both Toronto natives, next play Switzerland’s Esmee Boebner and Zoe Verge-Depre on Wednesday.

The top two teams in each four-team pool automatically advance to the round of 16.

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