Christopher McHugh and Zachery Schubert qualified for their first four-star event at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Xiamen ©FIVB

Christopher McHugh and Zachery Schubert qualified for their first four-star event at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Tour in Xiamen.

The pair overcame Thailand’s Nuttanon Inkiew and Sedtawat Padsawud 21-11, 21-9 in their opening match, before going on to beat Austria's Robin Seidl and Philipp Waller 21-19, 21-17.

McHugh and Schubert first partnered up in mid-2018, their best result a quarter-final finish at the Haiyang three-star event last year. 

“We’re pretty stoked, this is the first time we’re qualified as a team at a four-star, so it’s a pretty big moment," said Schubert.

"We’ve had some highs and lows and we're excited to make it into the main draw."

Brazil's Alison Cerutti and team-mate Álvaro Morais Filho reached the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Xiamen ©FIVB
Brazil's Alison Cerutti and team-mate Álvaro Morais Filho reached the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Xiamen ©FIVB

Brazil's Alison Cerutti and Álvaro Morais Filho reached the main draw, despite it being their debut tournament as a pair.

Having won a country quota match yesterday, today they defeated China’s Yan Tingyang and Li Jie 21-11, 21-13 and Russia's Taras Myskiv and Aleksandr Kramarenko 21-16, 21-18.

In the women's competition, Spain's Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo McMillan, competitors at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, eased into the main draw.

They triumphed against China’s Jiang Li and Zhao Huimin 21-8, 21-12 and then won 24-22, 21-14 against Greece's Vasiliki Arvaniti and Panagiota Karagkouni.

The main draw will begin tomorrow, with the top seeds beginning their campaigns.