Team Qatar claim title of Asian Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship

Bandar Abbas: Second seeds and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan defeated reigning champions Christopher McHugh/Paul Burnett of Australia in the final match of the 2022 Asian Senior Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship to claim the title. The exceptional 21-16, 21-17 win in the Friday’s showdown not only handed the in-form Qataris the Asian title for the third time in history, but was also a sweet revenge for their disappointing 16-21, 19-21 loss in the semifinal clash at the previous double-gender edition in Phuket, Thailand last year.    The victory stretched Qatar’s dominance in the annual competition to 3 times. Nonetheless, Australia stayed atop the medal standing of the Asian Senior Men’s Championship with 5 gold, while Indonesia had 4 and China collected 3. New Zealand and Iran had won 2 apiece and Kazakhstan claimed one.     Cherif and Ahmed, who captured their first two Asian titles in 2018 in Satun, Thailand and 2019 in Maoming, China, lived up to their top billing as current world No.4 to win the 2022 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in Maldives last month. However, the Qataris went through tough times in Bandar Abbas, facing strong Australians in three matches of the final phase in the star-studded Asian Championship.    After their unbeaten streak in the pool play, Cherif and Ahmed came back to beat Australians Izac Carracher/Mark Nicolaidis 2-1 in the action-packed round of 16 in the Thursday morning and continued their remarkable run to put it past fighting another Australian pairing, Zachery Schubert/Thomas Hodges, 2-1 in the quarterfinals later in the afternoon. However, the semifinal and final encounters proved to be more comfortable outings for Cherif and Ahmed as the Qatari duo turned things around to power past Chinese Li Zhuoxin/Xue Tao 21-18, 21-14 in the semifinal clash and Aussies McHugh/Burnett 21-16, 21-17 in the showdown later in the afternoon. In the third-place playoff clash earlier, Chinese Li Zhuoxin and Xue Tao stunned Iranians Mizaali/Vakili and their home supporters with the hard-fought 21 16, 26-24 win to claim bronze medal.

Team Qatar qualify to semifinals of Asian Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship

Bandar Abbas: Top seeds Abdolhamed Mirzaali/Arash Vakili, second seeds Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan and in-form Chinese Li Zhuoxin/Xue Tao all struggled in hard-fought three-setters on Thursday, but third seeds Christopher McHugh/Paul Burnett sealed comfortable win to see them book their semifinal slots in the Bandar Abbas-hosted 2022 Asian Senior Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship in Iran. Qatar's Cherif and Ahmed, who topped the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking for about nine months from August 2021 until May 2022, recovered from the first-set loss to beat Australia’s fourth seeds Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis, winners at the 2022 Coolangatta Future Beach Pro Tour, 17-21, 21-13, 15-12. In the Friday morning’s do-or-die semifinals, Iranians Mirzaali and Vakili will challenge Australian McHugh/Burnett, with Chinese Li/Xue going up against Qataris Cherif/Ahmed.

IOC President arrives in Doha

Doha: H.E President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Dr. Thomas Bach, arrived in Doha today, to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 which takes place on Sunday evening at Al Bayt Stadium. The IOC President and the accompanying delegation were welcomed upon their arrival at Hamad International Airport by H.E Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee and Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain.

Team Qatar finish second at WAFF U-23 Championship

Jeddah: Team Qatar claimed the second place at the West Asian Football Federation U-23 Championship after losing to Saudi Arabia 1-3 in the final match held at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Tuesday. Saudi took a two-goal lead in the first 20 minutes thanks to goals from Ahmed Al-Ghamdi and Saad Al-Nasser. Qatar hit back four minutes into the second half with a penalty from Diyab Taha to half the deficit, but Musab Al-Juwayr added Saudi’s third after 67 minutes to calm his side’s nerves. Most notably, Team Qatar reached the final match after beating Syria 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals game, following a 0-0 draw at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on Saturday while hosts Saudi Arabia secured their place in the final following a 2-1 victory over Oman.

Team Qatar qualify to second round of Asian Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship

Bandar Abbas: The Bandar Abbas-hosted 2022 Asian Senior Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship in Iran has reached its climax on Thursday when teams qualified for round of 16 will battle it out in the knockout stages to keep Finals hopes alive. Qatar enjoyed mixed lucks on Wednesday, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists and second seeds Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan overwhelming Thailand’s Dunwinit Kaewsai/Intuch Techakijvorakul 21-9, 21-12 in 27 minutes to maintain their unbeaten run in the championship. Another Qatari pairing, Saifeddine Elmajid/Ahmed Mahmoud Essam, failed to make their mark on the final day of the pool plays to go down 17-21, 13-21 to Omanis Mazin Alhashmi/Hood Alialaboubi for two losses in Pool H to miss the cut for the Thursday’s round of 16.

Qatar defeat China at Asian Senior Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship

Bandar Abbas: Qatar's Cherif Younousse Ahmed Tijan made a perfect start the Bandar Abbas-hosted Asian Senior Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship on Tuesday as the superb duo defeated Chinese Wang Yanwei/Zhou Chaowei 21-16, 23-21 in Pool B. With only top two teams from each pool advancing to the knockout round of last 16, the Chinese duo suffered two straight losses to eventually crash out of the championship.   Cherif and Ahmed, bronze medallists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winners at the 2018 and 2019 Asian Championships and gold medallists at the 2018 Asian Games, will next play Thailand’s Dunwinit Kaewsai/Intuch Techakijvorakul, who earlier came back to beat the Chinese duo 2-1, in their last match in Pool B on Wednesday.  However, win or lose, both Thai and Qatari teams have already guaranteed their spots in the Thursday’s round of 16.