Far from China's tropical beaches of Sanya, two pairs of Chinese women are planning to turn heads this summer on some of the world's finest sand in the heart of China's landlocked capital.

China's Zhang Xi (front) receives a ball as partner Xue Chen watches during their women's beach volleyball gold medal match at the 15th Asian Games in December 2006. Xue and Zhang beat Japan's Shinako Tanaka and Eiko Koizumi pair 19-21, 21-11,15-13 to take the gold medal. [Agencies]

Tian Jia and Wang Jie currently rank fifth on the FIVB World Tour while compatriots Xue Chen and Zhang Xi are seventh. This puts both teams in a position to keep Chinese beach volleyball moving along on its upward trajectory.

The women's version of the sport has been on the rise in the country since the last Olympics in Athens, where Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the US captured the gold medal.

While China's women are not yet at the level of the US, Australia or Brazil - who have all won an Olympic gold at the sport since it was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games - last year's results gave cause for optimism.

In 2007, Tian and Wang notched up six second-place finishes and two titles, while Xue and Zhang were runners-up four times.

However, this year both pairs have hit a speed bump. Defending champions Tian and Wang were eliminated in the first round of the recently concluded Shanghai tour, finishing ninth. Xue and Zhang only made it as far as the semifinals.

Head coach Miao Zhihong blamed the poor results on a lack of mental preparation.

"They are under too much pressure. They have to deal with the psychological side of things in the coming weeks," said Miao.

"Technically speaking, we still need a lot of work on overcoming blocked shots."

He said the high world rankings were a little generous.

"We are not among the world's best. I think it's fair to say we are second-tier," he said.

"Technically, I think we rank about eighth.

"We haven't played as many matches as the world's best, who can control the rhythm of play and adapt well to opponents.

Wu-ing the crowds

On the men's side, Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin are making strides and would have won the Shanghai tour were it not for Brazil's Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado, who are ranked No1 in the world.