Salim Cheniouni
Doha, Qatar-The
Qatari team comprising of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, were crowned Asian
Beach Volleyball champions in Satun, Thailand yesterday. This is the second
major title for Cherif and Ahmed after winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games
Beach Volleyball in Indonesia Jakarta this year. At the Asian Games the Qatari
pair defeated the Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ashfiya and Ade Rachmawan.
Becoming Champions was a long and intense journey for the The
Qatari Team. In the group stage they managed to lead the group after winning
three consecutive matches against Saudi Arabia 2-0 (21-12 / 21-14), Singapore
2-0 (21-15 /21-11) and against Oman 2-0 (21-19 / 21-18). They moved onto the
semi-final of the event with a resounding 21-15, 21-14 win over Kazakhstan’s
Alexey Sidorenko and Alexander Dyachenko.
The Qatari duo overwhelmed the Iranian duo of Bahman Salemi
and Arash Vakili 2-0 (21-18, 21-11) in the final match. Iran had won the title
of the previous edition. The winners completed the Bangkok tournament with a
perfect record winning every game.
These two major titles will help Qatar’s bid to earn a
direct qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.