Xue and Zhang, China's sole hope for beach volleyball glory

China's young pair of Xue Chen (pictured left) and Zhang Xi (pictured right) has shouldered the nation's expectations to pursue a first-ever beach volleyball gold medal in London, after a failed attempt at home four years ago.

More pressure fell upon the world's No 2 duo, the bronze medal winners at the Beijing Games, as this time it has to fight for China's gold dream alone. Their seniors, Wang Jie and Tian Jia, walked away from the Beijing Games with silver medals and retired soon after.

"Our greatest opponent right now is pressure and the will to win the gold medal in London," said Zhang, 27.