Smart diving, a few powerful smashes, some deft placing and an awful lot of unforced errors. It was all there, as the Sri Lankan men overcame Maldives in the opening match of the AVC Cup Asia Central Zone beach volleyball championship at the Kozhikode Beach on Friday.

Both the Sri Lankan teams won in straight sets.

The first to take the court were Asanka Kumara and Pubudu Ekanayake for the Lankans and Anil Ahmed Naseer and Abdul Wahid Shiunaz for Maldives.

The Lankan pair looked clearly the superior side, as they won 21-17, 23-21 in 34 minutes. With Kumara coming up with some nice smashes, the Lankans were able to take control early on.

They got even better, as the match wore on; Ekanayake also produced a few timely winners. Shiunaz and Naseer made things easier for the Lankans by making too many mistakes.

In the second match too, things were hardly different, as the Lankan duo of Sashimal Yapa and Sujeewa Chinthaka outclassed their Maldives counterparts Abbul Hameed Adnan and Naseem Adam to ensure that their team reached the semifinals.

The Maldives women too suffered a similar fate, as they failed to win a set in either of their matches against Nepal.

Both the Nepali teams, Binita Budhathoki and Reshma Bhandari and Nebika Choudhary and Saraswoti Choudhary, did well to ensure that their team booked a semifinal berth.

The Indian men reached the semifinals receiving a walk-over from Pakistan.

The results (quarterfinals):

Men: Sri Lanka bt Maldives 2-0 (Asanka Kumara & Pubudu Ekanayake bt Anil Ahmed Naseer & Abdul Wahid Shiunaz 21-17, 23-21; Sashimal Yapa & Sujeewa Chinthaka bt Abbul Hameed Adnan & Naseem Adam 21-16, 21-9).

Women: Nepal bt Maldives 2-0 (Binita Budhathoki & Reshma Bhandari bt Shaffa Aishath & Rashida Hawwa 21-17, 21-19; Nebika Choudhary & Saraswoti Choudhary bt Areesha Aminath & Majida Aishath 21-18, 22-20).

(The Hindu)