staddoha.com
Qatar’s Cherif Younousse expressed his hopes for a bright future for beach volleyball in the country, after he and teammate Ahmed Tijan defeated Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs 21-12, 21-18 in the men’s bronze medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The straight sets victory provided Qatar’s first medal in the sport – and eighth overall medal in the history of the Olympics. It’s also Qatar’s third medal of Tokyo 2020, after weightlifter Fares Ibrahim and high jumper Mutaz Barshim won golds.
“Right now we are on the map forever,” Younousse said. “Beach volleyball in Qatar, it’s going to be on the map forever, too.”
Younousse competed alongside Jefferson Pereira at the 2016 Rio Olympics, losing out in the round of 16. However, he and his new partner Tijan won gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
The Olympic achievement in Tokyo follows a series of successes for Younousse and Tijan in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour earlier this year, which saw podium finishes at events in Doha, Cancun, Sochi and Gstaad.
Ali bin Ghanim Al Kuwari, president of the Qatar Volleyball Association said: “We were aiming to win gold, but fortune didn’t favour us in the semifinal against Russia. This (bronze) is a start and a motivation for the team in the upcoming tournaments.”
Qatar’s bronze medal finish is particularly significant as it’s the first time an Arab country has won an Olympic medal in a team event.
“It’s an unprecedent achievement, and a lot of work went into it. We go into every event to compete and thanks to God, today we have reached the podium in the Olympics,” said Al Kuwari.