GUANGZHOU - China's Xue Chen and Zhang Xi won the women's beach volleyball title at the Guangzhou Asian Games on Tuesday, but that just marks the start of a more lofty aim - gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
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 Zhang Xi (left) of China returns a shot as Xue Chen looks on during the beach volleyball women's final match against compatriots Huang Ying and Yue Yuan on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies]
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"Although we won the gold here today, we are not fully satisfied. We have an ambitious goal and there is a lot we need to improve on to make that happen," said Zhang after defeating compatriots Huang Ying and Yue Yuan in the final.
"To win the gold is the goal of every athlete and we are no exceptions," Zhang said. "I know there are a lot of hardships ahead but we will fight hard and give our best in London," said Zhang, who teamed with Xue to bag the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games while another Chinese pair, Tian Jia and Wang Jie, took silver.
Four years ago, Xue and Zhang were competing at the Doha Asiad as China's No 2 team, behind Tian and Wang. They upset the senior pair in the semifinals 2-1 and went on to win gold.
Since Wang and Tian retired last year, Xue and Zhang, ranked No 3 on the World Tour, have shouldered the expectations of the home crowd and that makes them cherish winning the Asiad gold even more.
"Four years ago, we didn't go with the aim of winning gold. The victory surprised us and made us extremely excited," said Zhang, who was only 17 in Doha.
"This time is different. We were here as the top seeds and everyone was looking forward to our performance. That really put a lot of pressure on us, but also made winning the gold medal more enjoyable than the last time," she said.
Thailand's Usa Tenpaksee and Jarunee Sannok defeated Malaysia's Luk Teck Hua and Beh Shun Thing to bag the women's bronze medal.
The men's final on Wednesday evening will also be an all-Chinese match-up as Xu Linyin and Wu Penggen take on Gao Peng and Li Jian.
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