Action continued today at the FIVB Beach World Tour event in Rio de Janeiro ©FIVB

Austria’s Robin Seidl and Alexander Huber made a successful return to Rio de Janeiro today as the 2016 Olympic Games’ ninth-place finishers registered qualifying wins with different partners to advance to tomorrow’s main draw at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach World Tour event.

Seidl and Tobias Winter beat seventh-seeded Armin Dollinger and Jonathan Erdmann of Germany 21-18, 21-15 in 34 minutes, while Huber and Julian Hörl defeated sixth-seeded Nico Beeler and Marco Krattiger of Switzerland 21-19, 21-18 in 32 minutes.

Huber and Hörl are playing in their first FIVB World Tour event this season, with Seidl and Winter competing together for the fourth time this year. 

Seidl and Winter also defeated Dollinger and Erdmann in two sets during qualification at the season-opening event in Fort Lauderdale in the United States.

Among the other men's duos securing qualification at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Barra de Tijuca were second-seeded Maciej Rudol and Jakub Szalankiewicz of Poland.

They overcame Germany’s Bennet and David Poniewaz 21-11, 15-21, 15-12 and will be joined in the main draw by the likes of third-seeded Mathias Berntsen and Christian Sorum of Norway, and fourth-seeded Esteban and Marco Grimalt of Chile.

Berntsen and Sorum proved too strong for England’s Chris Gregory and Jake Sheaf in a 21-15, 21-8 win, while the Grimalt cousins downed France’s Romain Di Giantommaso and Maxime Thiercy 21-15, 21-10.

The Netherlands' Manon Nummerdor-Flier partnered Marleen van Iersel to victory today ©FIVB
The Netherlands' Manon Nummerdor-Flier partnered Marleen van Iersel to victory today ©FIVB

Brazil and The Netherlands each secured two of the eight qualifying berths in the women’s event.

The host country’s wins came courtesy of top-seeded Josemari Alves and Liliane Maestrini, who beat Russia’s Yulia Abalakina and Ksenia Dabizha 18-21, 21-19, 17-15, and second-seeded Juliana Felisberta and Carolina Salgado, who defeated Chile’s Maria Francisca Rivas Zapata and Maria del Pilar Mardones 21-13, 21-11.

Fourth-seeded Joy Stubbe and Jolien Sinnema were one of The Netherlands’ two victorious pairings, overcoming Norway’s Victoria Faye Kjølberg and Ane Guro Tveit Hjortland 21-15, 18-21, 15-11.

Compatriots Marleen van Iersel and Manon Nummerdor-Flier beat Austria’s Katharina Schützenhöfer and Stefanie Schwaiger 21-19, 21-13.

Among the other qualifying teams in the women's competition were third-seeded Nadja Glenzke and Julia Grossner of Germany and fifth-seeded Jagoda Gruszczynska and Kinga Kolosinska of Poland,

Glenzke and Grossner defeated Switzerland’s Nicole Eiholzer and Dunja Gerson 21-15, 21-17, while Gruszczynska and Kolosinska overcame the US’s Kimberly Dicello and Emily Stockman 21-17, 21-15.

The first of two days of elimination rounds for both the men's and women's tournaments is due to take place tomorrow.

Medal matches are scheduled to be played on Sunday (May 21).