Chinese beach volleyball women duo Tian Jia/Wang Jie easily beat an Austrian pair in a quarterfinal match at the Olympic Games on Sunday.
The Chinese players dominated the match with their strong serves and attacks, leaving Austrian pair Doris Schwaiger/Stephanie Schwaiger no resistance in most of the time. Both the two sets ended 21-12.
"We played to our normal standard, and we played at ease during the match," said the 1.87-meter Wang after the match.
To their semifinal, Wang said: "We'll focus on the match and make good preparations. We don't think about the result."
In the semifinal, they are to take on the winner between Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs of the United States and China's Zhang Xi/Xue Chen on Aug. 19.
China's best finish at the Olympics was ninth place, achieved by Tian and her then partner Wang Fei at the Athens Games.
While Tian is for the third time at the Olympics, Wang is taking part for the first time.
They remained unbeaten in the preliminary round. In their round of 16 match, Tian/Wang beat Norwegian opponents Nila Ann Hakedal/Ingrid Torlen in two straight sets 21-13, 21-15.
The Chinese duo has won three FIVB World Tour gold medals and placed second on the Beijing Olympics qualification rankings.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)