Eight teams from seven countries advanced to the men’s main draw as action begun today at the five-star FIVB Beach World Tour event in Gstaad in Switzerland ©FIVB

A group of eight teams from seven countries advanced to the men’s main draw as action begun today at the five-star International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach World Tour event in Gstaad in Switzerland.

Second-seeded Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs and third-seeded Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins qualified for Latvia at the Eisbahnareal venue.

Plavins and Tocs beat Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen 21-13, 21-10, while Samoilovs and Smedins defeated Turkey’s Murat Giginoglu and Volkan Gögtepe 21-14, 21-16.

"It's crazy that we had to qualified," the 34-year old Plavins, who captured the Olympic bronze medal at London 2012 with Smedins, said. 

"It's the system, so we just have to play better to avoid the qualifier. 

"Being ranked among the world's best is great, but you have to perform and place high in your latest FIVB World Tour appearances."

Top-seeded Nikita Liamin and Taras Myskiv of Russia also qualified for the main draw after overcoming Ukraine's Sergiy Popov and Iaroslav Gordieiev 21-18, 21-19.

Other teams qualifying were fifth-seeded Grant O'Gorman and Ben Saxton of Canada, sixth-seeded Saymon Barbosa Santos and Gustavo Albrecht Carvalhaes of Brazil, seventh-seeded Peng Gao and Yang Li of China, ninth-seeded Chase Budinger and Casey Patterson of the United States, and 13th-seeded Nils Ehlers and Lars Flüggen of Germany.

Russia's Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Rudykh were in impressive form as they reached the women's main draw ©FIVB
Russia's Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Rudykh were in impressive form as they reached the women's main draw ©FIVB

In the women's event, 17th-seeded Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Rudykh of Russia defeated top-seeded Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil of the US with a 21-18, 26-24 victory and advanced to the main draw.

It was Dabizha and Rudykh's second win of the day after the pair posted a 21-19, 21-19 triumph over Australia's 16th-seeded Phoebe Bell and Jessyka Ngauamo.

"That was an exhausting match as the Americans fought to the end in the second set," Dabizha said.

"We are thrilled about moving on to the main draw. 

"What a relief as we defeated two very good teams today."

Among the other teams progressing to the main draw were second-seeded Maria Antonelli and Carolina Solberg Salgado of Brazil, third-seeded Ekaterina Birlova and Evgenia Ukolova of Russia, and fourth-seeded Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka of Latvia.

They were joined by fifth-seeded Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Taiana Lima of Brazil, sixth-seeded Xinxin Wang and Chen Xue of China, and the German duos of seventh-seeded Margareta Kozuch and Laura Ludwig, and eighth-seeded Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider.

Pool play is due to begin tomorrow.