Timor-Leste tandem here for the lessons

Huang Ying (right) and Yue Yuan in action on Wednesday. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Guangzhou - Although FXL Alianca and Dos Santos Mariana from Timor-Leste only managed to score seven points in their beach volleyball match against a Chinese pair on Wednesday night, they're proud to be the sport's first two female players in their country.

"We know we have no chance of winning; we are here to learn," the 27-year-old Alianca said of the tandem that trained four months for their international debut at the Asian Games.

She said having the opportunity to participate in the international tournament is reward enough for Timor-Leste's only female beach volleyballers.

"We don't care about the result, we treasure every game," she said.

To fulfill her dream of competing internationally, Alianca, a former amateur volleyball player, decided to give the beach version a go just four months ago.

"Although our performance is very poor, I am glad we made the first step," she said.

"It is our second game of the tournament but I am still not used to wearing a bikini. In Timor-Leste, women are not allowed to expose their bodies in public, so we always wear trousers and a long-sleeved shirt during the training."

She added that it was also the first time their coach has seen them wearing bikinis.

The Chinese duo of Huang Ying and Yue Yuan said their Timor-Leste opponents deserve respect, despite being beaten within 15 minutes.

"I respect them from the bottom of my heart because they tried their best," said Yue.

Not surprisingly, Timor-Leste's only male beach volleyball pair also lost to China's defending gold medalists in the morning.

China Daily