(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain |
The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar's top beach volleyball duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan started their title defence at the Asian Games in style, blanking Indonesian counterparts in their opening game in Hangzhou, China yesterday.
The World No.3 Qatari pair displayed a dominating performance against Danangsyah Pribadi and Sofyan Rachman Efendi winning their first Pool B match with scores of 21-12, 21-18.
The Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games Gold medalists will now take on Philippines' Jaron Requinton and Alnakran Abdilla, who lost to the same Indonesian pair on Tuesday.
The match will be played tomorrow with Younousse and Tijan eyeing to enter the Round of 16 with a perfect record.
Another Qatar beach volleyball side comprising Mahmoud Essam and Abdullah Nassim suffered their first defeat in Pool F yesterday, falling to Iran's Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab 12-21, 15-21.
Essam and Nassim, who defeated South Korean team in their opening game, will face Macau today, hoping to advance in Sunday's Round of 16.
As many as 27 pairs from 16 nations are taking part in the men's beach volleyball event, which will culminate on September 28.
Meanwhile, Qatar men's volleyball team won their inaugural Pool E match, beating Thailand 3-1 with a 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19 score-line.
Youssef Oughlaf was standout performer for Al Annabi earning 21 points in the match that lasted one hour and 41 minutes.
Today, Qatar will meet Hong Kong in their second and final pool game looking to seal berth in tomorrow's Round of 16.
The final of the event is scheduled on September 26.
Shaky start for Qatar football team
Meanwhile, Qatar U23 football team suffered a 1-3 defeat to Japan in their inaugural Group D yesterday.
Despite the loss, Ildio Vale-coached side can still progress to the Round of 16 as they will play against Palestine in their last three-team group match tomorrow. Yesterday, Japan took the lead through Teppei Yachida in the second minute with Kotaro Uchino doubling the advantage for the 2010 Asian Games champions in the 25th minute. Abdulla Alsulaiti struck in 79th minute to give Qatar hope but Taichi Yamasaki sealed victory for Japan with a goal in 88th minute.
“Japan are a solid team; their quality was evident throughout the match. They made things difficult for us by scoring early. We did try to initiate a comeback and actually scored to make it a one-goal match, but unfortunately, they scored a third goal,” Qatar coach Vale said after the defeat.
“It's not the optimal start for us, but this is just the beginning of our tournament,” he added. The coach also complained about tournament's scheduling with his side getting little rest during the games.
“I don't understand how we're the only team to get only one day of rest. We'll play on Friday against Palestine, who have yet to play a single match. We're the only team in the tournament with such a packed schedule,” said Vale.
The Hangzhou Asian Games will officially start with the Opening Ceremony on September 23 but beach volleyball, football and volleyball competitions got underway on Tuesday.
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