They earned a 35-22, 25-20, 25-17 win over Russia at the Sadra Sports Hall.

The team they beat in the Rio 2016 final, and who have subsequently won the world title - Bosnia and Herzegovina - also secured a clear-cut opening win, 25-12, 25-16, 25-23 over the United States.

The opening match of the day saw Ukraine beat Germany – ranked one place below them in the world lists at six – by 25-13, 25-18, 25-12.

Tomorrow the third match of the day looks like being the crucial one as the hosts take on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is the second edition of this international competition, which only included women’s teams last year and saw Russia taking the gold medal in Hangzhou in China.

Competition has started in a round-robin format, with all six teams facing each other once and the overall best two qualifying for the final on Monday (April 24).

The third and fourth-placed teams are due to play for the bronze medal.