Rotorua volleyball player Kahurangi Robinson and his playing partner Nate Moore, from Tauranga, have been knocked out of the Youth Olympics by Thailand.
Robinson, 17, and Moore, 18, made it through pool play in the men's beach volleyball competition in Nanjing before running into Thailand in the round of 24 on Sunday.
Thailand's Surin Jongklang and Banlue Nakprakhong proved too strong for the New Zealand pairing, winning in two sets (21-11, 21-19).
Robinson and Moore wrote on their Facebook supporter page about the tough match.
"Getting up at 5am was never going to be easy but we pushed through to give it our best shot. First set we weren't in it whether it was a combination of nerves and sleepiness, it didn't happen and we went down," they wrote.