DOHA (Qatar): Cherif Younousse Samba and Ahmed Tijan will lead Qatar’s challenge at FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour which begins at Al Gharafa Beach Complex on February 23.
The Doha Beach Volleyball Cup will see the resumption of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Incidentally, last year’s edition of the 4-star Katara Cup men’s event in Doha was the final big beach volleyball competition before the Beach Volleyball World Tour activities came to a halt.
The hosts has entered seven teams for the $5,000 event led by Samba and Tijan, the 13th ranked team on the FIVB World Tour.
With Doha hosting its eighth World Tour event, Cherif and Ahmed will be seeking their second medal in the Qatari capital after placing third in the March 2018 Katara Beach Volleyball Cup after defeating Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena in the bronze medal match.
Overall, Qatar has captured six men’s FIVB World Tour medals with one gold, two silvers and three bronzes by Samba and Tijan.
Samba and Jefferson Pereira won a gold medal at the February 2016 Iranian stop on Kish Island by defeating Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic champions Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin in the finals.
The event will see 33 teams from 16 countries representing all five continental confederations.
Other countries entered in the event are Brazil (1 entry), Canada (1), Egypt (1), Gambia (1), Israel (2), Lebanon (1), Morocco (1), Oman (2), Poland (4), Russia (5), Switzerland (1), Tunisia (1), Turkey (2), United States (1) and Venezuela (2).
Jedrzej Brozyniak and Piotr Janiak return to defend their 2019 Doha Beach Volleyball Cup title, but the Polish pair will start the competition in the February 23 qualifier where four pairs seek the final spots in the 16-team main draw that starts February 24.
World Tour 4-star Katara Beach Volleyball Cup from March 8
The Doha Beach Volleyball Cup will be followed by the World Tour 4-star Katara Beach Volleyball Cup double gender event in Doha, from March 8-12.
The 4-star event will feature some of the world’s top-ranked beach volleyball players competing for a total prize money of $300,000. The event will also serve as an Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 qualification tournament with 400 Olympic ranking points on offer for the eventual champions of the Katara Cup.
