They claimed two victories on the sand in the purposed-built stadium in Tangshan as the pool stage of the competition began, with the duo not dropping a set in the process.

Their first opponents in Pool B were Turkey’s Merve Nezir and Aleyna Vence, who were seen off 21-11, 21-15, before Costa Rican sisters Lucia and Valeria Maria Matarrita Soto were beaten 21-4, 21-8.

Tomorrow they will face Mexico’s Diana Gabriela Valdez Lizarraga and Assul Dayana Lopez Estrada, who also recorded two victories today.

A strong day was also had by Russian duo Nadezda Makroguzova and Svetlana Kholomina, the runners-up at last year’s tournament in Lucerne.

Like the Brazilians who beat them in the Swiss city, they also won both their matches without conceding a set.

Germany’s Leonie Kortzinger and Lena Ottens were Makroguzova and Kholomina’s first opponents in Pool C and were beaten 21-12, 23-21.

The Russians then had a slightly easier time against Switzerland’s Zoe Verge-Depre and Esmee Bobner as they came through with a 21-11, 21-13 win.

Twin sisters Nicole and Megan McNamara of Canada, the bronze medallists in Lucerne, also produced two wins in their games in Pool D, defeating Romania’s Adriana-Maria Matei and Beata Vaida 19-21, 21-15, 15-9 and Czech duo Marina Maixnerova and Marie-Sara Stochlava 21-7, 21-15.

In the men’s competition, Asian champions Paul Burnett and Marcus Ferguson of Australia were given a stern test by Morocco’s Anass Berdaa and Soufine Gharouti in Pool E, before winning 25-23, 21-14.

Pool D saw Brazil’s Gabriel Heilborn Gouveia and Rafael Jose Mendonca de Queiroz continue their good form from the qualification round as they beat Norwegian pairing Jakob Solgaard Thelle and Aleksander Sandlie Sorum 21-13, 21-17.

Action continues tomorrow with the remaining pool games being played.