Reigning champions and Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalists, Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse of Qatar, exhibited their supremacy in Men’s Beach Volleyball, clinching gold at the 19th Asian Games. They secured a decisive 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) victory against the host duo, Abuduhalikejiang Mutailipu and Wu Jiaxin, at Xiangshan Beach Volleyball Center.
“It’s a great pleasure to be playing the Asian Games with such fancy facilities; it feels like playing in the Olympics as everything is perfect. Winning the gold medal back-to-back at the Asian Games feels great. We aimed to bring our national flag to the highest possible level, just as we did in the Olympics,” expressed a thrilled Cherif. He highlighted the intense competition, mentioning, “The final is never easy. They were playing at home. We just tried to keep our mind focused on each single point, to each single bout.”
In a high-stakes bronze medal match, Sergey Bogatu and Dmitriy Yakovlev of Kazakhstan outplayed Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab of Iran in a gripping 2-0 (25-23, 30-28) showdown.
This win marks a successful conclusion to the beach volleyball competition of the 19th Asian Games. The women’s event saw Chinese Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi securing gold, while Japanese Sayaka Mizoe/Miki Ishii and Chinese Wang Fan/Dong Jie clinched silver and bronze, respectively. In the men’s event, besides the gold for Qatar, silver went to Chinese Abuduhalikejiang/Wu and bronze to Kazakhs Bogatu/Yakovlev.
Asian Games – Finals
Bronze medal match
Sergey Bogatu/Dmitriy Yakovlev vs. Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab 2-0 (25-23, 30-28)
Gold medal match
Ahmed Tijan/Cherif Younousse vs. Abuduhalikejiang Mutailipu/Wu Jiaxin 2-0 (21-19, 21-16)