Norway and Belgium started the Beijing Olympics women's beach volleyball competition Saturday as Norway beat Belgium 2-0.

Susanne Glesnes and Kathrine Maaseide of Norway, for the second time at the Olympics, won over Belgians Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbeth Van Breedam 24-22 and 21-18 in a match of the Group A of women's tournament.

The Belgians were for the first time at the Olympics.

The Norwegian pair was placed 17th at the Athens Games. They also were runners-up and third placed respectively at the 2004 and 2008 European championships.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)