Top three teams celebrate on the podium.
Doha: Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar yesterday won the bronze medal at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event in Cape Town, South Africa, after defeating Austrians Robin Seidl and Philipp Waller in straight sets (22-20, 21-14).
It was the fourth Beach Pro Tour medal for the Qatari pair this season – they took gold in the Rosarito Elite16 and the Maldives Challenge and silver in the Jurmala Elite16.
Qatar’s Cherif Younousse (left) in action with team-mate Ahmed Tijan, as they play against Austria yesterday. AFP
“It was a tough match against Austria,” Cherif said after the podium win.
“They are a good team and we had some trouble on the first set, but after we adjusted our strategy things went better. We also got a lot of energy from the fans here, I loved playing in Cape Town. I really enjoyed coming to South Africa for the first time and am already looking forward to coming back.”
The reigning Olympic and world champions, Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sorum won the title in Cape Town with their sixth-straight two-set victory, a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) win over Swedish rising stars David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig in the final yesterday.
The Brazilian city of Uberlandia will be the next destination of the Beach Pro Tour. The Elite16 tournament there will be played next week, from November 9-13.
