Kerri Walsh (L) and Misty May-Treanor of U.S. kiss their gold medals on the podium during the victory ceremony of women's gold medal match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games beach volleyball event in Beijing, China, Aug. 21, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

Defending champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the United States won the title again in the beach volleyball tournament at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday.

The American pair defeated China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie with a perfect 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) in the final, which was held in downpour. The Chinese duo got the silver medal.

The two sides traded points in the first set to 17-17 before the U.S. duo reached the set point 20-17. The Chinese players managed to score one more point as the Americans failed to block a spike by Tian. With a dink spike to a gap in the hosts' defense, the U.S. duo claimed the first set 21-18.

Kerri Walsh (L) and Misty May-Treanor of the U.S. celebrate after they won the women's gold medal match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games beach volleyball event in Beijing, China, Aug. 21, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

In the second set, the Americans led at the beginning while the Chinese came from behind and traded points for a tit-for-tat battle. The visitors reached the match point 20-18 and finished the gold medal match with a dink spike.

"We've been training for so long. Gold was our goal and we did it," said Walsh, who jumped into the air and squealed to celebrate their victory before talking to the press in the mixed zone after the match.

"It was such a tough match. I'm so proud we did a good job here in Beijing, and I'm so glad it's over. We felt like warriors out there," she said.

May-Treanor said the performance of the Chinese team was "amazing" and motivated them to play at a higher level.

Silver medalists Tian Jia (L) and Wang Jie of China stand on the podium during the victory ceremony of women's beach volleyball medal matches of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 21, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

"The Chinese team is amazing. They are so young and they pressed us so hard in the match. I feel proud to play with them in the final," she said.

The Chinese duo said they were happy with the silver medal, a historic breakthrough for China, whose previous best Olympic finish was ninth place, achieved by Tian and her then partner Wang Fei at the Athens Games.

"I'm excited to win the silver medal. We did our best in the match. I'm proud to present such a wonderful match in front of the large audience," said the 1.87-meter Wang, whose efficiency at the net made big contributions to trade points with the defending champions before the visitors outscored them in the last minutes.

"Before the match everybody wanted us to win the title but our opponents are too strong, especially at crucial moments," said Tian, a three-time Olympian.

"A good team is good because it can grasp the chances after the two sides reach 15 points," she said.

"They've devoted a lot of time to beach volleyball, and competing against them gave us a chance to practice," the 27-year-old added.

Tian and Wang said before the match began that their rivals were "very strong" both in experience and technique and they just wanted to do their best in the final match.

Miao Zhihong, head coach of the Chinese beach volleyball team, said he was satisfied with their performance. "They played to their best standard basically and they played also very actively in disadvantage."

"They are very young but they had quite a stable state of mind in the match, which was very important to playing well," he said.

The U.S. duo, dubbed "queens of the beach," didn't lose a single set at the Beijing Olympics. And they have not been defeated in a single match since August last year.

Three-time Olympian May-Treanor said before the Olympics that experience was their advantage and they would use it to gain the upper hand over their rivals in Beijing. "Experience in beach volleyball comes into play in those big matches where fatigue sets in."

The combination of the pair is another factor which contributed to their outstanding results. Men's beach volleyball legend and three-time Olympic champion of the United States Karch Kiraly also prized the partnership of May-Treanor and Walsh "the best ever".

Staunch willpower is another significant weapon for the U.S. duo to perform well. "I will pretend that the crowd was cheering for us," May-Treanor said of the audience's support in the final for the Chinese team before the match began.

The U.S. duo, the first team to win to beach volleyball Gold medals at the Olympics, said they would never stop making progress in playing beach volleyball.

"We'll never be satisfied with our performance and our achievements," Walsh said.

In an earlier match, China's Zhang Xi and Xue Chen captured the bronze medal, defeating Brazilian pair Talita Antunes/Renata Ribeiro in straight sets.

With two teams earning Olympic medals, China's success in beach volleyball is expected to enhance the popularity of the sport in the country, which began to develop the sport just some 20 years ago.

"I hope beach volleyball will have a faster development in China through our success at the Beijing Games," Wang added.

Editor: Yan