Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai went down 10-8 against the tournament favourites.
The beach volley pair, Lupo and Nicolai, were disappointed and elated at the same time.
"I'm sorry for how it ended but I'm happy all the same," said Lupo.
"It was a pity because they aren't stronger than us, but they played better," said the 25-year-old Roman, who has an Italian father and a Kazakh mother.
"Perhaps we felt the pressure a bit too much; the desire to win perhaps held us back a bit, paradoxically."
Like Nicolai, Lupo said the pair were going to put their disappointment behind them and were now looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics in four years.
"We're certainly going to try again; this particular pair has a lot to give," Lupo added.
"I'm really enjoying myself playing with Paolo."
Nicolai pointed out that he and Lupo were far from being favourites going into the tournament.
"It's a very beautiful silver," he told RAI State TV broadcaster.
"Our goal was to get a medal and we managed to pull it off."
ANSA
