Alkass Digital
Title holders and pre-tournament favourites Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar yesterday crashed out of the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championship after losing to Australian duo Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert in their quarter-final tie.
In the last quarter-final clash of the men’s tournament at the Beach Sport Base of Pingtan in Fuzhou, China, the World No.10 pair of Hodges and Schubert were tested to their limits by the Olympic bronze winners Cherif and Ahmed on their way to a 2-0 win.
The opening stage of the match saw stiff battle between the two sides as the three-time Asian champions Cherif and Ahmed stretched the first set to 25-27 with the Aussies walking away with an advantage.
The Qatari duo battled hard in the second set also before going down fighting 21-19 as Hodges and Schubert ended the pair’s bid to clinch two titles in a row - for the second time in the Championship’s history.
Until yesterday, the formidable Qatari duo had won all four of their matches in China in straight sets. Earlier, they had beaten Gurin Kirill and Aldash Nurdos of Kazakhstan in the Round of 16 after topping the Pool stage with dominant victories over Japan’s Shiro Faruta and Dylan Hiroki Kurokawa; Aihemaiti Salamu and Lyu Lin of China, and Iran’s Salemi Bahman and Shokati Sina.
Meanwhile, Hodges and Zachery later went on to beat Thai duo Tipjan Pithak and Taovato Poravid in a thrilling three setter (16-21, 21-16, 15-5) to advance to the title clash.
Since pairing up in 2022, Hodges and Zachery have won four titles and finished as runners-up in three international events.
Blocking their path to what could be their biggest title to date, are the double Commonwealth Games gold medallists and former Asian champions Chris McHugh and Paul Burnett who made it to their third final in a row.