Qatar’s Cherif and Ahmed claim silver at Ostrava Elite16
DOHA - Qatar’s Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan claimed silver in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16 men’s tournament in Ostrava on Sunday after going down 15-21, 21-19, 12-15 to reigning Olympic and world champions and defending Ostrava trophy-holders Anders Mol & Christian Sorum of Norway.
It was the Norwegians’ third overall podium-topper in Ostrava, after they also won the 4-star event on the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
For Younousse & Tijan, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists, it was the first podium of the season and fifth overall on the Beach Pro Tour since it was launched last year.
In the gold medal match, Mol & Sorum dominated the first set to edge forward on the scoreboard, but seventh-seeded Cherif & Ahmed fought back in the second to push the final to a third-set decider. Regaining control on the court, the Norwegians made sure they stay in front on the way to Mol’s kill block that ended it at 2-1 their way.
Mol’s blocking efforts accounted for as many as six of his 28 points in the match. Sorum finished with 19 points as both he and his partner managed to ace twice each during the game. Ahmed’s 22-point tally included an ace and a block, while Cherif raised three stuffs towards a 15-point total.
“This means everything! It’s so special to play here in Ostrava, in front of all these amazing people,” said Mol at the end of the match. “I also want to thank my partner. He did a great job today.
“The Qatar boys really gave us a super strong match. They hit around my block every single ball, so it was really, really tough and we are just super happy. Thank you so much to the organizers for bringing out this event, because it’s one of the greatest events of the year and we hope to play here for the next 10 years at least...”
USA’s Miles Partain & Andrew Benesh, seeded 13th, made their way to the podium. Their bronze was the pair’s second medal on the Beach Pro Tour.
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