Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan win men’s gold at Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China; undefeated in seven matches
Cherif & Ahmed triumph at Asian Beach Games with Empowerment – FIVB
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment beneficiaries earned two beach volleyball medals at the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China. Qatari stars Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan(pictured in the main photo; source: Xinhua News)celebrated the men’s gold, while Japan’s Ren Matsumoto & Non Matsumoto claimed the women’s silver. Iran’s Abolhassan Khakizadeh & AmirAli GhalehNovi and Thailand’s Wachirawit Muadpha & Netitorn Muneekul completed the men’s podium. Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee & Taravadee Naraphornrapat of Thailand triumphed in the women’s competition. The bronze went to China’s Jiang Kaiyue & Dong Jie.
Qatar Volleyball Association’s beach volleyball department has so far been granted a total of USD 294,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national beach volleyball pairs, in addition to USD 23,000 in beach volleyball equipment. Qatar’s men’s duos are working under the guidance of Argentinean coach Pablo Bernardi.
Qatar’s Cherif & Ahmed dominated the men’s tournament in Sanya. They won all seven of their matches, dropping only a set in one of their pool matches, against Iran’s Abolhassan Khakizadeh & AmirAli GhalehNovi, whom they met again in Wednesday’s gold medal showdown and beat again, this time in straight sets, 2-0 (21-15, 21-12).
In the semifinals, Cherif & Ahmed mastered a 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) shutout of Thailand’s Wachirawit Muadpha & Netitorn Muneekul, while Abolhassan & GhalehNovi outplayed Oman’s Hood Al Jalaboubi & Mazin Alhashmi by 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-13). In the match for the bronze, Wachirawit & Netitorn celebrated a 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) victory over Hood & Mazin.
The Japan Volleyball Association’s beach volleyball department has received coach support in USD 84,000 of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding. Their national team duos have been working with American coach Steve Anderson.
Japan’s Ren Matsumoto & Non Matsumoto made a perfect run to the final, with five consecutive straight-set wins crowned with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-13) sweep of their semifinal against Thailand’s Salinda Mungkhon & Patcharaporn Seehawong.
Another Thai pair, Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee & Taravadee Naraphornrapat, lost their first set of the tournament in the 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-11) turnaround against bracket leaders Jiang Kaiyue & Dong Jie of China, and then achieved a 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) victory over Non & Ren in Wednesday’s gold medal showdown to triumph as Asian Beach Games champions undefeated in six matches played.
Jiang & Dong pleased the home fans with a 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 15-13) win over Salinda & Patcharaporn in the bronze medal playoff.
35 men’s teams and 28 women’s teams from 26 different federations took part in the beach volleyball tournament at the Sanya 2026 Asian Beach Games.
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