Qatar’s Ahmed Tijan (left) and Cherif Younousse celebrate.
Doha: Qatar’s Olympic bronze winners Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan kept their hopes for another home title alive when they stormed to the AVC Men’s Beach Tour Doha Open quarter-finals yesterday.
After opening the tournament at Al Gharafa Beach Complex on Wednesday with a commanding 21-7, 21-10 win over Uzbekistan’s Mukhammadali Otabekov and Nodirjon Alekseev, the world No. 9 duo secured a dominant 2-0 victory in the Round of 16 yesterday.
In the Last 16 clash, the Qatari duo outclassed Bahrain’s Ali Marhoon and Hasan Abdulla Nasser with scores of 21-15, 21-11 in just 24 minutes to enter the next round.
The victory also extended the top seeds’ unbeaten streak in Asia following their recent gold-winning performance at the Samila Open in Thailand.
Younousse and Tijan will now face Thailand’s No. 6 seeds Dunwinit Kaewsai and Banlue Nakprakhong, the semi-finalists at last month’s Pattaya Asian leg.
The Thai duo cruised past Uzbekistan’s Dilshodbek Tolibaev and Azamat Dauilbaev (21-14. 21-13) in another Round of 16 clash yesterday.
Australia’s third seeds Paul Burnett and Luke Ryan will meet Japan’s No. 11 seeds Takumi Takahashi and Jumpei Ikeda in another quarter-final clash today, while Ben Hood and Oliver Merritt, also from Down Under, square off against Iran’s seventh-seeded Alireza Aghajanighasab and Abbas Pourasgari.
Tenth-seeded Japanese duo Nassim Malki and Kosuke Fukushima will battle Thailand’s fourth seeds Netitorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha in the final last-eight encounter today.
The four-day Doha Open, which has drawn 21 elite pairs from 10 Asian nations, offers valuable cash awards apart from ranking points as well as qualification credits for upcoming international events.
The semi-finals will also take place tomorrow, followed by the final and the third-place play-off tomorrow.
