The duo were looking to claim their third continental title as a pairing, having triumphed in 2012 and 2014, but faced the challenge of their compatriots Bo Soderberg and Cole Durant.

McHugh and Kapa justified their status as the top seeds during the opening set, their impressive serving helping them claim it 21-10.

The second set proved a far closer affair with Soderberg and Durant eventually taking the match into a decider after edging out their rivals 21-19.

They were unable to maintain the momentum, however, and defending champions hit back to emerge 21-10, 19-21, 15-9 winners.

“There’s been ups and downs for sure,” said Kapa, who suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2014.

“We’ve been trying our best, we’ve been working really hard at our game.

“It was really great playing on Manly Beach, in front of such a great crowd.

“It really was a very special win for us.”

The duo will now head into the Asian Continental Olympic qualifying tournament in June, which are also scheduled to take place in Australia, as the clear favourites to secure Rio 2016 qualification.

China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia will also seek to earn an Olympic berth after proving dominant throughout the duration of the women’s competition.

The pairing failed to drop a set on route to the gold medal, which they claimed by defeating Australia’s Nikki Laird and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in the final.

Laird and Artacho del Solar produced an impressive display in the first set but were unable to prevent their rivals from taking the opener 21-17.

The home favourites could not battle back into the contest and Chen and Xinyi took control to seal a 21-17, 21-10 victory.