Olympics: Qatar’s Cherif, Ahmed drawn alongside World No.1 Swedish pair

Doha: Qatar s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will be up against counterparts from Sweden, Italy and Australia in the preliminary round of the beach...

Doha: Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will be up against counterparts from Sweden, Italy and Australia in the preliminary round of the beach volleyball competition at the 2024 Olympics as the Tokyo 2020 bronze medalists aim to excel in Paris.

Asia’s top-ranked duo, currently placed in 14th spot in the FIVB Beach Volleyball standings, were placed in Group A, alongside Sweden’s World No.1 pair of David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig, Italy’s Paolo Nicolai/Samuele Cottafava and Australia’s Mark Nicolaidis/Izac Carracher at the official draw which divided 24 participating teams into six groups on Friday.

Group B includes Norway, Netherlands, Italy (B), and Chile, while Group C includes Germany, Poland, Australia (B), and hosts France.

Group D features Brazil, USA, Cuba, and Morocco, while Group E comprises the Czech Republic, Brazil (B), Austria, and Canada. Group F includes France (B), the Netherlands (B), Spain, and USA (B).

Cherif and Ahmed’s maiden appearance in the Olympics as a team was in Tokyo three years ago, where the then Asian Games title-winners became the first medal winners for Qatar in beach volleyball.