Playing under floodlights, Rajkumar and Omar Mohsin scored a sensational 15-5 victory over formidable Australians Pat Gulline and John Cuff before the A pair of Mohammad Jameeludin and Mohammad Ghouse put it across Bahrain's Mohammad Al Shaikh and Muneer Al Tooblani 15-11.

Befittingly, Rajkumar and Mohsin drew celebration from the sparse, though enthusiastic crowd, just before Channel V's razzmatazz compered by Suchitra Pillai and Marc Robinson threw a warm welcome to the participants.

All four players come from Hyderabad. They braved a strenuous bus journey from the Andhra Pradesh capital and overcame the handicap of preparing on an artificial beach in an interior city.

Rajkumar and Mohsin, skills honed by competition in the United States, showed superb understanding and movement. They fought backsplendidly after trailing 0-2 and enlivened the Indian camp after their women crashed to a large defeat. Playing later, Jameeludin and Ghouse showed even sterner resilience while erasing a 1-5 deficit before beating their Arab opponents.

India's women Sujata Santhanam and Ruksana Fathima were soundly beaten 2-15 by Thailand's Rattnaporn Ariaisuk and Wilaiwan Ketmanoo. New Zealand men's pair Craig Seuseu and Tom Eade made short work of Thailand's Surachai Namboot and Sudajai Naktamna 15-4.

Compatriots, Nikki Fake and Angela Stojanovic did even better in the women's section, blanking Hong Kong's Sung Wai Wan and Siu Wan Kam 15-0, and giving every impression of living up to their top billing.

The Kiwis love their beach volleyball for sure and not just going by the imposing scoreline. Tom Eade, at six feet four inches, plays his heart out on the sand, supported by the agile part-Samoan Craig Seuseu at six feet two inches. So much so that, Eade, 27, had abandoned a promising career in cricket where hebrushed shoulders with current Kiwi internationals Adam Parore and Mathew Horne in the under-17 competition at home.

A part-time doctor, Eade and Seuseu, 26, a marketing graduate, showed fine co-ordination in steamrollering their shorter Thai rivals in a repeat of the result in Thailand last year where they clinched top honours.

Ranked 31 last year, the Sydney-based duo have been together three years, enjoying every minute of the tour that has seen them soak in much of Europe.Like the women, Eade and Seuseu have made Australia their home. The weather in New Zealand is far from conducive to the beach variety of the sport which their neighbours across the Tasman Sea provides.

Statuesque Angela Stojanovic, a service station assistant and volleyball referee, and Nikki Fake, a hairdresser, sure want to go places. Beach volleyball has taken them far alright. Ranked 33rd in the world, despite lack of exposure arising due to geographical isolation, the duo, like their male counterparts, moved toAustralia.

Like most beach spikers, both started off with indoor volleyball but were eventually lured to the sea side. The smaller Hong Kong pair of Sung Wai Wan and Siu Wan Kam barely had a clue to the goings-on.

Fake was delighted that her services worked to a tee and Stojanovic, whose father is Yugoslav, prompted well in demolishing the opposition.

Results

(Seeding, nationality in brackets) Men: Surachal Namboot/Sudajai Naktamna (8, Thai) bt Atumi Yohshihiro/Mochizuki Tuyoshi (9, Japan) 15-8, Sam Ryoung Park/Siung Houn Cha (7, Korea) bt Ki Hoi Kim/Biung Taik Moon (10, Korea) 15-5, Craig Seuseu/Tom Eade (1, NZL) bt Surachai Namboot/Sudajai Naktamna (8, Thai) 15-4, Thaweep Thonkamnmerd/Sataporn Sawangreung (2, Thai) bt Sam Ryoung Park/Siung Houn Cha (7, Korea) 15-2, Manatsanan Pangka/Kamoltip Kulna (Thai) bt Sung Wai Wan/Siu Wan Kam (HKG) 15-1. Rajkumar/Omar Mohsin (India) bt Pat Gulline and John Cuff 15-5; Mohd Jameeluddin/Mohd Ghouse (India) bt Mohd Al Shaikh/Muneer Al Tooblani

Women:Nikki Fake/Angela Stojanovic (A-1, NZ) bt Sung Wai Wan/Siu Wan Kam (A-4, HKG) 15-0, Manatsanan Pangka/Kamoltip Kulna (A-2, Thai) bt Diong Mee Lee/Ong Sleb Meei (A-3, Mal) 15-7, Rattnaporn Arlaisuk/Wilaiwan Ketmanee (B-3, Thai) bt Sujatha Santhanam/Ruksana Fathima (B-4, Ind) 15-2, Nikki Fake/Angela Stojanovic (A-1, NZ) bt Dlong Mee Lee/Ong Sieb Meei (A-3, Mal) 15-11.