Olympic champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt, pictured, will be looking to defend their title at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna ©FIVB

Olympic champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt will be looking to defend their title at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna, where action is due to begin tomorrow.

Having lifted the trophy two years ago in Dutch city The Hague, the Brazilians will be looking to become the first men’s pair to win back-to-back global crowns.

Cerutti and Oscar Schmidt are due to begin the defence of their title against Mozambique’s Aldevino Nguvo and Justino Tovela on Saturday (July 29).

"We want to defend our crown and remain among the best," Cerutti said.

"It’s a great opportunity to be part of history.

"We have won a lot of tournaments during the last three years and our team feeds from these kinds of challenges.

"That’s how we work as a team.

"We’re really excited and motivated and looking forward to it."

The Red Bull Arena on Danube Island in Vienna will have seating for 10,000 fans during the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships where Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst will carry Austria's hopes ©Red Bull
The Red Bull Arena on Danube Island in Vienna will have seating for 10,000 fans during the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships where Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst will carry Austria's hopes ©Red Bull

A total of 96 teams from 40 different countries are due descend on the Austrian capital’s Danube Island for 10 days of action inside the 10,000-seater Red Bull Beach Arena.

In the women’s event, Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst will be aiming to complete their collection of gold medals.

They are expected to be among the contenders to claim the World Championship title and add to those they won at Olympic, European and national level last year, despite enduring an injury-hit season so far.

Much attention will also be on the four men’s and three women’s teams representing the home nation.

Top-seeded Austrian Clemens Doppler, who first appeared on Danube Island as a player back in 1989, is eagerly anticipating the start of the competition.

He and team-mate Alexander Horst are first due to go up against Iranians Rahman Raoufi and Bahman Salemiinjehboroun tomorrow.

"It’s the biggest beach volleyball event ever and it’s in my hometown - words can’t describe it," the 36-year-old Doppler said.

"We’ve prepared for this tournament for six months and now it’s finally here.

"We’ve practised on the Red Bull Beach Arena already and even with an empty stadium I’m getting goosebumps."

Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst are the reigning women's Olympic champions ©FIVB
Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst are the reigning women's Olympic champions ©FIVB

The competition is set to reach 100 countries around the world courtesy of more than 500 accredited journalists.

Twenty-seven television outlets are broadcasting 1,234 hours of coverage.

The first match scheduled for tomorrow sees Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior and Andre Loyola Stein take on Dutch wildcards Maarten van Garderen and Christiaan Varenhorst, a 2015 silver medallist.