Shifaa Mrad
Doha, Qatar- Qatar beach volleyball team consisting of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship in Satun, Thailand, on Tuesday.
The Qatari duo who claimed gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, remained in irresistible form in Pool B when they beat Saudi Arabia's Mahmoud Ali and Alkhawaher Dhia in comfortable straight sets 21-12, 21-14.
They later repeated the similar feat over Kingsley Tay Z. H. K./Shen Fan Yang as they thrashed the Singaporean pair 2-0 (21-15, 21-11).
“First of all, thanks God that we won. The weather condition is not easy to play two games in one day as it is quite windy here. It is really great that we won two games in a row, but we still have not showed our best level. To win the tournament, we still have many tough games coming. Against Oman tomorrow, we will try to beat them to capture the top spot in our pool," Charif said.
Qatar’s second team of Thamer Issa and Mahmoud Essam, who had lost their first match against Thailand, got to winning ways with 2-1 victory against Hong Kong.
During the preliminary round, Issa and Essam had defeated Malaysia 2-0.
Sherif and Tijan will take on Oman, while Issa and Essam will play Japan, on Wednesday.
(With inputs from: Qatar Olympic Committee)