Qatar’s beach volleyball pair Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan became the first team to reach the last 16 of the Paris Olympics after a stunning win over World No 1 David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden on Monday.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists mounted a stunning comeback from a set down to push the match deep into the overtime of a tie-breaker set and eventually close the game at 2-1 (15-21, 21-19, 20-18) with a serving ace for the match winner. The 13th seed Cherif and Ahmed outplayed their opponents mostly in spiking and serving, but also took advantage of the unforced errors the Swedes made at key moments of the match.
Cherif was the best scorer of the match with an impressive 36-point contribution to the victory. His tally included five aces and four kill blocks. Meanwhile, Hellvig raised as many as eight kill blocks to finish with 29 points, but his team suffered their first defeat of the tournament.
“It was a really tough game. They have been playing really well and haven’t lost a single game over the last couple of tournaments, so it was a very challenging game,” Cherif said.
“We were ready for a long fight, because every single point was going to be very tough. We played very well in the second and the third sets. Even after having a bad start, we never gave up and tried to enjoy every single point and every single action with this amazing crowd. But our job is not finished and we have to go back to work after tomorrow. We’ll try to finish the pool strong and then get back to the big fight, because the knockout rounds are going to be very intense.”
“I am feeling really good. I am feeling happy and at the same time I am really tired, because to win against this team you have to get tired,” Ahmed added. “It was not an easy game and took a lot of energy. But we are going to rest tomorrow and be ready for the next game.”
In the other Pool A match, 12th-seeded Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai of Italy achieved their first win, a 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) shutout of bottom-seeded Australians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher.
Cherif and Ahmed are top of the current pool standings on a 2-0 win-loss record. They will conclude their group stage meeting against Australia’s Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis on Thursday.
Ahman and Hellvig and Cottafava and Nicolai are second and third on 1-1 each and will engage in direct battle with each other for the second spot among the top two teams in the final Pool A table on Thursday.
Abusharib at 22nd spot after three rounds
At the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Qatari shooter Saeed Abusharib was placed in the 22nd position in the men’s trap qualification after three rounds. With two more rounds to be held today, Abusharib shot 24, 22 and 24 for a total score of 70. The top six shooters will advance to the medal round which will take place today evening.
Abusharib, who qualified for Olympics by winning the silver medal at the Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, South Korea, is one of the two Qatari shooters in Paris.
His compatriot, Rashid Saleh al-Athba, who booked his ticket to Paris by winning bronze at the World Championships in 2022, will compete in the qualifying round in skeet shooting on August 2.
