Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar’s beach volleyball stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan virtually dug themselves out of big trouble on more than one occasion as they combined superbly to beat Sweden’s World No.1 pair of David Ahman and Jonathan Hellvig for a place in the Round of 16 at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday.
In what turned out to be an exhilarating see-saw affair, Younousse and Tijan staged a brilliant comeback to secure a 15-21, 21-19 and 20-18 in the nearly hour-long contest.
It became a cliff hanger at the end with the Qatari pair eventually winning on the fifth match point with the packed stadium on the edge of their seats.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists mounted a furious 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.
Younousse & Ahmed outplayed the opponents mostly in spiking and serving, but also took advantage of the unforced errors the Swedes made at key moments of the match. Younousse 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 very tough game we are really happy. We were playing against the number ones in the world. We were expecting it, and our coach had told us to be ready for three sets and an intense match. Thank God we won the game, but the job is not finished. We have another match and this was just one of the battles. Now it’s time to rest and get back to work the day after tomorrow to finish the pool strong and get ready for the big fight,” said Younousse soon after the win.
Elaborating on the contest, he added, "They kept us really to hit the ball every time from the back. But we are not new in this circuit, so we fixed it very well in the second set. Then we really got into a rhythm.
"In the tie-break, it was tough. We had maybe four or five match points. But this is the level; this team is very strong. They hadn’t lost a single game in the last two tournaments. This is their first loss in the last two tournaments, so we are really happy.”
His partner Tijan, said, "It was very tense. Funny, yeah, funny nice, but it was tough. But we expected to enjoy the game and stay positive no matter what. The first set we played very badly, but we didn’t give up. We stayed focused and kept fighting until the end. Thank God, that gave us the victory.
"Against Australia, we are going to bring the same strategy, the same tactics. They are a good team. Any team that made it all the way to here is a good team, so we are going to give our best against every single team.”
The win was Younousse and Tijan’s second at Paris 2024 – following their Saturday’s straight sets win over World No.13 Italian pair of Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava to lead the Pool A table.
Younousse and Tijan will conclude their group stage meeting next Australia’s Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis on Thursday (August 1).
The top two teams from each group will directly advance to the round of 16, along with the best two third-placed teams.
Qatar shooter Abusharib competes in men’s trap
Earlier in the day, Qatar shooter Saeed Abusharib competed in the men’s trap qualification rounds at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.
At the end of three rounds (of the total five) on day 1 of the event, Abusharib achieved a commendable score of 70, shooting 24, 22 and 24 targets in his first three rounds, respectively. With a total score of 70, Abusharib is currently placed in the 22nd position in the qualification rankings, with a countback score of 25. Australia’s James Willet with a total of 74 (25, 24, 25) is currently at the top.
The top six shooters will advance to the medal round.
Abusharib, who qualified for Paris 2024 by winning the silver medal in the men’s trap event at the Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, South Korea, is one of the two Qatari shooters at the Paris Games.
Qatar’s Rashid Saleh Al Athba, who booked his ticket to Paris by winning the bronze medal at the World Skeet Championships in 2022, will be competing in the qualifying round in men’s skeet on August 2.