Olympics: Second seed Xue/Zhang lose beach volleyball opener

London - Beijing Olympic bronze medallists Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China were defeated Saturday by Russian duo Anastasia Vasina and Anna Vozakova in the opener of the women’s beach volleyball preliminaries of the London Olympic Games here Saturday.

The 23rd-seeded Russian pair successfully limited their Chinese opponents’ offence with firm blocks on its way to the 18-21, 21-14, 16-14 victory at the Horse Guards Parade, reports Xinhua.

Vasina and Vozakova had nine successful blocks during the one-hour match, mainly from Vasina, while China had only three. Meanwhile, the second seed Xue and Zhang committed 10 serving mistakes while the Russians had nil.