President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, posing for a photograph with Team Qatar athletes and officials during a visit to the Athletes Village of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, yesterday. QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin
Tokyo: Qatar’s beach volleyball duo of Cherif Younouse and Ahmed Tijan will begin their campaign at the Tokyo Olympics today as they will take on Swiss pair of Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson of Switzerland in their opening Group C match.
The Qatari pair will enter the event, which got underway yesterday at the Shiokaze Park, as the medals contenders following their fine form at the FIVB World Tour.
The pair’s recent achievements include a gold medal in the third round of the Cancun World Championship in Mexico in May and a silver medal at the Sochi World Tour Championship in Russia.
H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, receiving a memento from his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, during a meeting in Tokyo, yesterday.
Cheirif and Tijan will play their next group matches on July 28 and July 30.
The men’s beach volleyball contest started yesterday with Dutch Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen winning the most anticipated clash on the opening day as they defeated 41-year-old American veterans Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) in Pool D.
In the same pool, defending champion and two-time Olympic medallist Alison Cerutti and his team-mate Alvaro Filho of Brazil won the opening match against Argentina’s Julian Amado Azaad and Nicolas Capogrosso by 2-0 (21-16, 21-17).
Beach volleyball star Ahmed Tijan in action during a practice session ahead of today's Pool C preliminary match against Switzerland's Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson.
Pool A was also in action on the first competition day in the Japanese capital. Ilya Leshukov and Konstantin Semenov of ROC won each of the two sets against legendary Spaniards Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira by the narrowest of margins, 2-0 (21-19, 22-20).
In the last match yesterday, heavy favourites Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway met some very tough resistance from ‘last-minute’ qualifiers Christopher McHugh and Damien Schumann of Australia, but survived for a narrow 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 15-13) victory to avoid what would have been a major upset.
Tala Abujbara of the Qatar in action during the Women’s Single Sculls (Repechage Round) at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, Japan, yesterday.
Meanwhile, rower Tala Abujbara was in action yesterday for a second consecutive day, finishing third in women’s single sculls (repechages) with a time of 8:16.88. She will also be in action today.
Ayoub Elidrisi will also make history today becoming the first Qatari judoka to feature in Olympics. The day-long judo competition will be held at Nippon Budokan Complex. Elidrisi will compete in the U-66kg category.
Fares, Al Obaidly arrive in Tokyo
Meanwhile, star weightlifter Fares Ibrahim and Qatar’s swimming sensation Abdulaziz Al Obaidly joined the national contingent in Tokyo yesterday.
Fares underwent extensive preparations for Olympics and recently returned to Doha from a training camp in Georgia that lasted for months.
Al Obaidly, 19, also shone in FINA World Cup events and has been dominating the GCC Championships. He will compete in men’s 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 27.
A big honour, says Al Hammadi
Qatar’s International shooting referee Abdullah Al Hammadi, who is one of the officials in the competition, was happy to represent the country.
“I feel very proud to represent my country at Olympics for a second time after Rio Olympics. This time the Games are being held without spectators which makes it different from the past events,” said Al Hammadi.
Also yesterday, Team Qatar’s medical team head Dr. Laith said all the athletes were in good health. The doctor said all members of the contingent are showing responsibility in following the COVID-19 precautionary measures.
