Qatar’s beach volleyball stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan swept aside Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2024 Paris  Olympics on Monday.

In one of the competition’s most exciting matches at the Eiffel Tower Centre Court, Qatar’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists staged a brilliant comeback against the World No.1 pair to win 15-21, 21-19, 20-18. They won the game in 58 minutes.

“It was a tough game, and we’re really happy. We were playing against the world’s best pair. We were expecting a really tough game. Our coach told us to be ready for three sets and an intense game. So thank God we won it,” Younousse said, after a game where Qatar had to fend off four match points to seal the win.

His long-term beach volleyball partner Tijan agreed.

“Oh, this match was very tense. Funny, yeah, funny nice, but it was tough. We expected to enjoy the game and stay positive no matter what. In the first set, we played very badly, but we didn’t give up. We stayed focused and kept fighting until the end. Thank God. It gave us the victory,” he said.

Younousse said their experience helped them overcome the top pair, who had not lost a single set in recent matches.

“They forced us to hit the ball every time from the back. But we aren’t new to this circuit, so we fixed it very well in the second set. Then we got into a rhythm. In the tie-break, it was tough. We had maybe four or five match points. But this is the level, and this team is very strong. They hadn’t lost a single game in the last two tournaments. This is their first loss in a long time, so we’re really happy,” Younousse said.

Their second win in Paris — following Saturday’s straight-set win over World No.13 Italian pair of Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava — put the Qataris on top of Pool A. But Younousse said the task was far from over and they would focus on their next pool game against Australia’s Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis on August 1.

“The job isn’t finished. We’ve another game, and this is just one of the battles. The battle isn’t finished yet. 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,” Younousse added.

The top two teams from each group will directly advance to the round of 16, along with the best two third-place teams.

Earlier, Qatari shooter Saeed Abusharib competed in men’s trap qualification at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre. After completing three rounds on day 1, Abusharib is 22nd with a score of 70 and a countback score of 25. In his first three rounds, he hit 24, 22, and 24 targets respectively.

Sweden’s Rickard Levin-Anderson (74), and Australia’s James Willet (74) lead the scorers’ list after Day 1, with two more rounds remaining.

The top six shooters will advance to the medal round, which will take place on Tuesday evening.

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