Beach Volleyball: Kiwis knocked out of champs

New Zealanders Kirk Pitman and Jason Lochhead have been knocked out of the beach volleyball world championships in Switzerland after losing an exhausting match to a Chinese combination.

Asian Games champions Zhou Shu and Li Jian won 27-25 21-23 15-11 in a match that lasted more than an hour - one of the longest matches at the week-long tournament in Gstaad.

Pitman and Lochhead gave themselves several set points in the first set but couldn't convert.

Despite failing to reach the top 16, the New Zealand pair still gained a valuable 200 ranking points which will help with their aim of qualifying for next year's Olympic Games.

The Chinese team also went on to beat the defending world champions Marcio and Fabio of Brazil 2-0 to progress to the quarter finals.

- NZPA