Americans Chase Budinger, a former NBA basketball player, and Miles Evans defeated the French duo Youssef Krou - Arnaud Gauthier-Rat 2-0 (21:14, 21:11) in their opening group stage match at the Olympics.
We remind you that the 36-year-old Budinger is a former professional basketball player. He has played more than 400 NBA games with Houston, Minnesota, Indiana, and Phoenix. In 2017, he retired from basketball and took up beach volleyball.
Budinger and Evans are currently ranked 13th in the world.
Joining them in Group F are the Spaniards Pablo Herrera - Adrian Gavira, as well as the Dutch pair Stefan Boermans - Yorick de Groot. Two teams will qualify directly for the round of 16.