China's top beach volleyball women duo win group

China's beach volleyball duo Tian Jia/Wang Jie finished first in women's Group A on Wednesday by scoring their third preliminary win at the Beijing Olympic Games.

They won 2-1 over Norwegian pair Kathrine Maaseide/Susanne Glesnes, booking a berth in top 16 as they have won two matches.

By clinching the first place, the Chinese duo will be meeting a pair which is among the last placed in top 16.

The win was not a comfortable for the Chinese, who had to come from behind after the loss of the first set (17-21). They outscored the rivals in the next two sets (21-14, 15-8).

"We didn't play well. We tried to take as many points as possible when we were in a difficult position. We kept our will strong and kept fighting," said the 1.89-meter Wang after the match.

"In next matches we'll go all out. Every team is tough," she said.

Tian commented on their performance in the match: "We had a lot of mistakes in our service and their service is always floating and we are not prepared for it."

"In the next matches, we'll act more quickly to adapt us with different situations. We need to change our strategies from time to time in face of different rivals," she said.

In women's Group C, Sydney Olympics title holder Natalie Cook and her new partner Tamsin Barnett also finished first in their group after winning their third preliminary against Ana Paula/Larissa of Brazil.

"The performance of my partner (Natalie Cook) was amazing and my blocks worked well," said Barnett after the match.

"We're happy to finish first in the group. They (Ana Paula/Larissa) are strongest players in the world. Our coordination worked well in the match," Cook commented.

"We know the next matches will be tough for us," she added.

The Brazilians are a new pair as Ana Paula replaced injured Juliana Felisberta just days before the Olympics opened. The Juliana/Larissa combination finished third at the Olympic qualification ranking and had been considered a contender for the gold medal.

"It was a warm-up match for us. We know the match would be hard. We've done better. Our combination is improving," Larissa said at a press conference after the match.

"We were not lucky in the match but we'll learn from mistakes," she said.

Swiss pair Simone Kuhn/Lea Schwer in Group A is out after losing their third preliminary on Wednesday, as did the Russian pair Natalia Uryadova/Alexandra Shiryaeva in Group C.

Georgian pair Saka/Rtvelo, which scored their first preliminary on Wednesday, still has hope to advance. They beat Uryadova/Shiryaeva.

In the men's tournament, Emanuel Fernandes/Morais Santos Abreu of Angola was also eliminated after their third defeat. They were edged out by Renato Gomes/Jorge Terceiro of Georgia on Wednesday.

中国沙滩排球组合１３日继续不败战绩。田佳／王洁胜了第三场小组赛，取得所在的Ａ组头名，将在八分之一决赛中与预赛成绩靠后的一支队伍对阵。

田佳／王洁与挪威的格莱斯内斯／莫塞德比赛时开始并不顺利，曾先失一局。但此后田佳／王洁再没有给对手任何机会，连胜两局赢得胜利。三局比分为１７：２１、２１：１４和１５：８。王洁在赛后说：“我们在本场比赛表现一般。在落后时，我们调整了心态，主要靠意志力在拼搏。”对于未来的淘汰赛，王洁说：“我们还是要努力拼意志，每一个对手都不好对付。”

在男子Ｂ组，奥运会夺标热门罗杰斯／达尔豪瑟表现出了要争夺冠军的气势，１３日以２１：１２和２１：１３轻松击败阿根廷组合巴拉切蒂／孔德，进入十六强。由于第一场预赛意外输给了名不见经传的拉脱维亚组合普拉温斯／萨莫伊洛夫斯，罗杰斯／达尔豪只能以小组第二的身份出线。

男子组中，卫冕冠军桑托斯／雷戈１３日击败澳大利亚的沙赫特／斯莱克，取得三连胜。荷兰的尼梅尔多／许伊尔也以全胜战绩出线。女子组中，除了中国的田佳／王洁全胜外，悉尼奥运会冠军库克也雄风不减，带领新搭档巴尼特１３日胜了第三场，美国组合布拉纳／扬斯也取得接连三场胜利。

取得两胜晋级的男队有拉脱维亚的普拉温斯／萨莫伊洛夫斯、瑞士的拉西加／施尼德和澳大利亚的沙赫特／斯莱克。女子组中，巴西的安娜·葆拉／拉丽莎、挪威的格莱斯内斯／莫塞德以及德国的波尔/劳也以两胜成绩进入十六强。