Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan started their Asian Games beach volleyball gold medal defence in style beating Indonesia’s Danangsyah Pribadi and Sofyan Rachman Efendi 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) in Pool B game in Hangzhou, China, on Wednesday.
Qatar’s top beach volleyball pair Tijan and Younousse are third in the world rankings with 6,580 points, and hope to retain the gold they won in 2018 in Jakarta.
The other Qatari beach volleyball team of Mahmoud Essam and Abdullah Nassim, who defeated their South Korean counterparts in their first match, lost to Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab 12-21, 15-21.
They will face Macau side in their last Pool F match today, hoping to seal their berth in the knockout stage. As many as 27 pairs from 16 nations are taking part in the beach volleyball event.
The Asian Games do not officially open until Saturday, but several sports are already under way.
Qatar men’s volleyball team won their inaugural Pool E match, defeating Thailand 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19). Youssef Oughlaf was a standout performer for Al Annabi scoring 21 points in the match that lasted 1:41 minutes.
Meanwhile in football, Japan began their bid for a first Asian Games gold since 2010 with a 3-1 win over Qatar on Wednesday, as Syria and Afghanistan pulled out.
Japan were cruising 2-0 at half-time after goals by Teppei Yachida and Kotaro Uchino, before Qatar hit back in the 79th minute through substitute Abdulla Al Sulaiti. But just as the Qataris threatened to grab a point in the group-round match, defender Taichi Yamasaki popped up to make the game safe for Japan in the closing minutes.
Tuesday, the first day of action, South Korea launched their quest for a third men’s football gold in a row with a 9-0 demolition of Kuwait. The men’s football competition has been hit by withdrawals, however, with Afghanistan and Syria pulling out yesterday from Group C.
That means group opponents Hong Kong and Uzbekistan are into the last 16 without kicking a ball. India were thrashed 5-1 by hosts China on Tuesday but coach Igor Stimac said he was just pleased to be able to field a team.
“I’m happy because I see that some teams pulled out at the last minute (because) they couldn’t get enough players,” said the former international defender for Croatia.
“It’s a big problem for the whole tournament now.”
The Asian Games are outside FIFA’s international window so clubs are not compelled to release players. Asian Games football teams are made up of under-23 squads but they can have three overage players.
Football, beach volleyball, cricket, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing and volleyball will all take place at the Games on Thursday.
