Qatar's beach volleyball duo off to a flying start at the Paris Olympics
Qatar’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan started their beach volleyball journey at the 2024 Paris Games on a winning note, getting the better of Italian World No.13 pair of Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava in straight sets (21-19, 21-18).
The Qatari duo’s opening match in Pool A took place at the foot of the iconic Eiffel Tower, in Paris.
Cheirf and Tijan, who three years ago clinched Qatar’s first medal in beach volleyball, will next take on the Swedish World No.1 pair of David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in their second Pool A match on Monday. They will then meet Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher in their third and final Pool A match on August 1.
Earlier on Saturday, Qatari swimmer Abdulaziz Al Obaidly competed in the 100M breaststroke qualifying round. He finished sixth in Heat 2, with a time of 1min 04.31sec, and failed to progress to the next round.
Al Obaidly said he was satisfied with his performance against some of the world’s best swimmers but promised to strive to keep improving.
“The atmosphere was wonderful and the fans were present in large numbers, even though we were in the qualifying stages. I felt as if we were in a football stadium. The fans’ cheers were wonderful, and the presence of my father, who’s my biggest supporter, as well as my mother, was a special experience. I’ll strive to improve my performance,” Al Obaidly said.
Meanwhile, Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) President Khalil Ibrahim Al Jaber said Al Obaidly had met their expectations at paris.
“We’ll prepare our swimmers to compete in the 2026 Youth Olympics and 2028 Olympic Games. Al Obaidly’s participation in Paris reflects positively on QSA’s attempts to grow the sport in the country. Qatari referee Jassim Abdullah has also been selected to officiate at the Games and it’s a proud moment for us,” he said.
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