Ahmed Tijan (left) Cherif Younousse celebrate.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan topped the podium at their very first appearance on the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
Yesterday, they triumphed as winners of the Xiamen Challenge, after dropping only a set in six matches played in China.
For the two-time Olympians and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists, it was the first Beach Pro Tour gold since 2022, when they collected their first two.
Their overall collection from the Tour now features three gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Top-seeded Younousse and Tijan showed no mercy in yesterday’s final, which they won in a 2-0 (21-14, 21-14) landslide. Younousse spearheaded the Qatari duo in attack with 14 points, including the match winner, and added four kill blocks to his tally to top the match chart with a total of 18 points. Tijan added nine, including one ace. Krattiger (three kill blocks) and Dillier (one ace) put away 11 points each.
“It’s been a long week! This was our first stop and it was the best way to start our season in the elite level,” Younousse said immediately after the victory in the final.
“The job is not finished. We have just started and it’s time to go home, rest and prepare Ostrava.”
“It’s a great feeling to get our first gold medal on the 2025 Beach Pro Tour. It’s a good start for us and we are looking forward to achieving more,” Tijan added.
Earlier yesterday, in the semi-finals, Younousse and Tijan managed a hard-fought 2-1 (21-16, 17-21, 15-11) victory over Mol and Mol.
