GB's beach volleyball players describe Olympic debut as 'phenomenal' but remain focused

Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin have delcared their Olympic debut as 'phenomenal' but say they are focusing on their match against Italy tomorrow.

They thrilled a partisan home crowd at Horse Guards Parade to come from behind to beat Canada 17-21, 21-14, 15-13. Dampney said: “I lived every point and all the ups and downs.

“We were a little bit nervous at the start and needed to keep building after the first set. We just needed to remain calm.

“The crowd were really amazing and really got behind us. When things got close we never gave up, we didn’t want to let the crowd down or let Great Britain down. To come out and win tells people we are here to do something.”

Italy’s Marta Menegatti and Greta Cicolari also showed their battling spirit yesterday as saw off Russia 17-21, 21‑18, 15-8.

Dampney said: “We’ve had some really good games with them on the World Tour so we know they’re a really tough team. We’ll have to bring our best game.”