Hangzhou: Beach volleyball duo Mahmoud Essam and Abdullah Nassim got Qatar’s Hangzhou Asian Games campaign rolling with a 2-0 victory over South Korea yesterday.
Beach volleyball, football and volleyball events kicked off yesterday in Hangzhou, but the multi-sport event proper will begin from September 23, with the opening ceremony also scheduled the same day.
Yesterday, Essam and Naseem were clinical as they eased past their South Korea opponents in their opening group fixtures. The duo are slated to face teams from Iran and Macau next.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s top beach volleyball pair Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse will begin their defense of the gold medal today, as they take on the Indonesia pair.
Tijan and Younousse are third in the world rankings with 6,580 points, and will fancy their chances of retaining the gold they won in 2018 in Jakarta