Alkass Digital
Three-time champions, Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will be aiming to retain their title, when the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships begin on June 23 at the Pingtan in China.
The Tokyo Olympic bronze winners will take to the sands at the picturesque island as favourites to win the prestigious title, and will be challenged by some of the best sides in the world, including the double Commonwealth Games gold medallists and former Asian champions Chris McHugh/Paul Burnett as well as World No.19 pair of Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert of Australia.
The rivalry between Cherif/Ahmed and McHugh/Burnett will be a treat to watch, with the two Asian heavyweights bracing for a meeting for the third time at in the history of the Championships.
Before defeating McHugh and Burnett at last year’s final in Bandar, Iran, Cherif and Ahmed had lost to the eventual champions - Australian pair in the semi-finals of the 2021 tournament held in Phuket, Thailand.
The Qatari pair’s previous two Asian titles came at the 2018 and 2019 held in Thailand and China, respectively.
On the other hand, the McHugh is a five-time Asian champion, having won the titles in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022, with three different partners in Isaac Kappa, Damien Schumann and Burnett.
The Asian Championships will be the third outing this year for the former World No.1 Qatar duo, currently placed sixth in the FIVB rankings.
Cherif and Ahmed excelled at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 event in Ostrava where they finished second, following a modest start to the season at the Doha round of the same series in which they finished in the ninth position.
Apart from the star duo, Qatar will also field another pair – Ibrahim Nassim Abdullah and Zaki Mohamed Ihab – in the men’s competition which sees 32 pairs in action.
This year’s tournament is the 23rd overall Senior Championships, while the men’s competitions were scrapped from the 2001 and 2015 tournaments.