Qatar’s Younousse and Tijan Secure Semi-Final Spot in Beach Pro Tour Finals

Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan have advanced to the semi-finals of the Beach Pro Tour Finals Doha 2024 after a dominant display in Pool A, where they claimed four consecutive victories against some of the world’s top teams.

Competing at the Aspire Zone, the Qatari duo demonstrated exceptional skill and resilience, defeating Olympic silver medallists and reigning world champions en route to securing their spot among the tournament’s top four teams.

On Thursday, Younousse and Tijan extended their unbeaten streak with two impressive wins. They first overcame Germany’s Olympic silver medallists, Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, in a thrilling three-set match. After dropping the first set 21-16, the Qataris rallied to take the next two sets 21-17 and 15-13, sealing a pulsating victory over the World No.3 pair.

Later in the day, they achieved their first straight-set win of the tournament, narrowly edging out the Netherlands’ Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot in a tense encounter, 23-21, 22-20.

Their journey to the semi-finals began with equally remarkable performances on the opening day. Younousse and Tijan defeated 10th-seeded world champions Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of Czechia in a hard-fought 2-1 victory (20-22, 22-20, 15-9). They followed up by overcoming eighth-seeded Italians Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai, again coming from behind to secure a 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-9) triumph.

Joining the Qatari team in the semi-finals are Sweden’s Olympic champions and FIVB World Ranking leaders David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, who topped Pool B.

On the women’s side, teams from the United States and the Netherlands advanced to the play-offs. American pairs Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, as well as Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, progressed alongside the Netherlands’ Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon.

Cannon and Kraft, seeded eighth, secured their third victory in Pool A on Thursday. Despite a tough challenge from China’s Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi, they emerged victorious in a three-set battle, 2-1 (21-15, 14-21, 15-12). They lead the Pool A standings as the only undefeated team.

Xue and Xia, with a 2-1 win-loss record, remain in contention. The Chinese duo also claimed a hard-fought 2-1 (22-20, 15-21, 15-13) win earlier against Italy’s Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth.

The final round of pool matches will determine the remaining teams advancing to the semi-finals and quarter-finals, keeping the competition’s intensity high.