AlKass Digital
Satun, Thailand– Qatar's Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse qualified to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships after beating Thailand's Nuttanon Inkiew and Sedtawat Padsawud in straight sets 21-13, 21-16 on Wednesday.
A large number of home spectators survived scorching heat to watch the games at the venue and boost their favorite teams morale in order that they can advance to the next round after the preliminary pool plays.
In the men's event, top seeds Nattanon/Sedtawat, who made much of the impact after capturing the unprecedented FIVB 1-Star World Tour Pak Bara Beach Satun title early this year at this venue, recovered from the Tuesday's stunning loss to the Japanese pair of Ageba/Nishimura to beat Hong Kong China's Lam/Chui 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) in their last Pool A match and advance to the round of 16.
But their run came to a halt when they were knocked out of the tournament by second seeds Ahmed Tijan/Cherif of Qatar who earlier topped Pool B after claiming three consecutive victories in their pool plays.
Both teams showed some great rallies in the beginning of the first two sets, but it was the Qataris who stole the show and came out on top at the end.
“We are very happy to beat the Thai team in the round of 16 teams. We played aggressively and tried to finish the game. In the quarter-finals we have yet known who we will play next, but of course I'am sure it is going to be a tough match. We will try to play according to our game plan and hope that we will win again," Cherif said after the match.
(Courtesy: Qatar Olympic Committee)