DOHA, March 3, 2018 – The competitions of the prestigious Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2018 will get underway at the Katara Cultural Village on Tuesday amid participation of 56 teams representing 28 countries from across the world .
Three Qatari teams are going to take part in the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup, which is being staged from Tuesday0. at the Katara Cultural Village. Qatar has fielded Cherif Younousse-Ahmed Tijan, Jefferson Santos Pereira-Julio Cesar do Nascimento and newcomers Benlouaer Ziad-Ahmed Ali Nassir with an eye on the 2020 Olympic Games.
Earlier, Jefferson is used to play with Younousse as the No. 1 team of Qatar, but last year the Qatar Volleyball Association decided to change the top pair and replaced Jefferson with Tijan.
Younousse and Tijan have already played two World Tour events after reuniting the first time since the 2014 Doha Open, while Pereira and Julio have yet to launch the New Year together. Both the Qatari teams appeared in the Palembong AVC Beach Tour Event in November last year in Thailand.
Younousse and team bagged the title, while Pereira and Julio finished third. Pereira and Younousse had indeed formed a potential combo. Besides clinching the three-star Kish Island Open in 2016, they figured in two World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. With a new test coming up at home, Pereira and do Nascimento would be more than keen to give it a good shot and make up for the lost time on the Tour.
The Katara event is the second of the 10 competitions called FIVB four-star organised during the 2018 season by the International Volleyball Federation worldwide. This is the only four-star event the FIVB has allotted in the Middle East and will see the participation of 56 teams from 28 countries.
The Qatari capital is hosting a World Tour event for the fourth time as Doha staged its first event in 2014 followed by two tournaments during the Olympic qualifying process for the Rio 2016 Summer Games in November 2015 and April 2016.
One of the featured pairs this week will be Markus Bockermann-Lars Fluggen as the Germans defeated Americans Phil Dalhausser-Nick Lucena for the 2015 crown followed by a fourth-place finish in 2016 when Italians Alex Ranghieri-Adrian Carambula topped the podium.