(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Armstrong Vas I The Peninsula
Asian Games beach volleyball gold medallist and Olympian Cherif Younousse anchored Qatar to a fighting win over Indonesia in the first round Group B match of the 4 x 4 volleyball at the ANOC Beach Games at Al Gharafa yesterday.
The hosts got off the mark with a 2-1 win. The first two sets were scrappy, but the visitors took their foot off the gas in the third, pulling away to win 16-21, 21-14, 15-7.
Younousse led from the front to script the win. He was successful in getting nine points through his spikes, out of the 19 attempts and also blocked six attempts.
Team-mates Saif Elmajid and Ziad Benlouaer played a perfect foil supplementing Younousse efforts. Elmajid scored six points and blocked five attempts while Benlouaer got past the Indonesia defense four times.
For Indonesia, who started on a promising note, winning the first set, Licardo and Firnanda excelled in attacking roles while Ardana played his part as a defensive shield.
Qatar's coach Mariano Baracetti was delighted with his win.
'It is a very good beginning for us. We knew that Indonesia have a good players, good technique and good physical conditions. But we didn't know about their level as a team, Baracetti said.
Baracetti said tough matches lay in wait for his team in the coming days.
'Each match is going to be tough. It is a new format and new experience. We're adjusting and will try to improve in next matches, the former world champion from Argentina added.
In the other Group B match, Germany created the biggest upset of the tournament.
The USA men's team, consisting of full-time pros and including beach volleyball veteran and Olympian Casey Patterson lost 2-1 to a team of unknown German teenagers playing in their first international match. After trading the first two sets, the Germans edged out the USA 15-13 in the decider.
In the last two men's matches, Australia handily beat Chile 2-0 and Poland pushed out minnows Mozambique 2-0 in a tighter affair.
Earlier, in the women's section, top seeds Brazil took the first match of the Games with a routine win over an outclassed Nigeria, 21-10, 21-7. The Brazilian women's team are hot favourites to win gold here in Doha, and on this morning's evidence they were living up to their billing.
Eight women's teams were in action in their first pool matches. The biggest upset came from Vanuatu, the tiny Pacific island nation who received a wildcard entry, taking down Canada in their first game: 2-0, (21-19, 21-19).
Australia went to the top of Group B with a 2-0 win (21-11, 21-7) over a tenacious Gambian team.
Group A saw the USA edge out Czech Republic 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) in a trickier match on Field 1.
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