New pair Cherif Younousse and Jefferson Pereira put up an excellent show and won the gold medal of the second GCC Beach Games Volleyball, beating Oman B’s Haitham al Shereiqi and Ahmed al Hosni in straight sets on Sunday.
At Al Gharafa Club complex, Pereira and Younousse sent a decent crowd into raptures when they won the match by 21-17 21-18 after facing some early resistance from the Omani pair.
Earlier, Qatar A defeated Abdelaziz al Khallouf and Tamer Abdelrasoul 21-14 21-15 to qualify for the final, while Haitham and Ahmed outclassed their teammates from A team – Badr al Sobhi and Mazin al Hashmi – 21-10 21-16.
This was followed by the third place playoff which Badr and Mazin won by beating Khallouf and Abdelrasoul with hard work. Bahrain A took the fifth place with a straight win over their B team.
The final match saw young and new left-handed player Younousse in full cry. After getting an encouraging support from behind by experienced Pereira, he controlled the net quite remarkably.
The Qatar A, after 3-3, opened a three-point lead with both Younousse and Pereira combing well. The local players moved to 10-7 before a brief rally by Haitham and Ahmed narrowed down the score to 9-10.
Pereira and Younousse quickly stepped up the pace and later Younousse drilled a superb smash to widen the advantage to 13-10. The Omani pair tried hard but failed to come closer. Younousse produced another fine smash to set up the set point.
Qatar A had to wait a bit as Haitham and Ahmed saved a point. Cheered by the crowd, Younousse unleashed a power-packed smash to closed out the set.
The second however had the Qataris fighting hard in the beginning and the Omanis went three points clear twice after going up 8-4. Both Pereira and Younousse steadied themselves and eventually tied the scores at 13.
Both the teams drew level at 14 too but Younousse claimed two points in a row through his smash and then a block to take his team to 16-14. Ahmed made it is 15-16 with a touch-out. He reduced the gap to one point twice at 16-17 and 17-18 but Qatar A did not give up.
Pereira started a rally with a brilliant return and Younousse set up the ball, which Pereira thumped into the Oman B’s court to get to the match-point. The Omanis saved the next point but had to reply to Younousse’s superb cross-court smash, which sealed the win.
Younousse was delighted with the gold medal effort. “This is a big gold medal for me. I’m really pleased to win the final of my second big event and that too at home. I can’t ask for more. I got a strong support from Jefferson and tried my best upfront.
“This was a really good experience to play alongside Jefferson. We have just formed the team and I just tried to do what I was told to. During the match, you’ve to be ready for the unexpected. Jefferson is guiding me well and I’m excited that almost everything came off well in this crucial match,” added Younousse.
Pereira said, “It was very good to win at home. This time, I played with a young player. There was some pressure. This tournament, I am sure, has given us experience to go to the next tournament with confidence.
“He is too young. He is starting to understand the game. We’re having a chemistry and I feel he’s shaping well,” added Pereira.
On Monday, the Qatari players are to fly to Thailand for the Asian tour event. They will also contest in a world tour tournament.
Qatar coach Pedro Paulo Costa was thrilled with his A team’s performance. “For me, the biggest prize was to see Cherif play like this. He’s not experienced but I’m really delighted with the way he responded to the challenges especially in the last two matches.
“We had only three weeks to practise together as the players were playing for their clubs. We tried to change somethings and those changes really worked. This is just a beginning. We’ve a long and tough road ahead of us.
“We’ve to leave for Thailand for an Asian tour event tomorrow. After that we’ll a world tour tournament as well. So that will be a good experience for these players. This will make them much more confident.
“Jefferson was incredible the way he helped Cherif in the final. We played almost 100 percent and this is good for Qatari beach volleyball,” he said.
GCC Volleyball Secretary-General Waleed Aman presented the medals. Also present on the occasion were QVA President Khalid Ali al Mawlawi, QVA Secretary-General Mohammed Ali al Mohannadi and GCC Games Media and PR Director Mohammed bin Issa al Fadalah.
النتائج
Beach volleyball final
Jefferson Pereira & Cherif Younousse (Qatar A) beat Haitham al Shereiqi & Ahmed al Hosni (Oman B) 21-17 21-18
Bronze medal
Badr al Sobhi & Mazin al Hosni (Oman A) beat Abdelaziz al Khallouf & Tamer Abdelrasoul (Qatar B) 21-18 23-21
المركز الخامس
Bahrain A beat Bahrain B 21-18 21-16
Semi-finals
Jefferson Pereira & Cherif Younousse (Qatar A) beat Abdelaziz al Khallouf & Tamer Abdelrasoul (Qatar B) 21-14 21-15
Haitham al Shereiqi & Ahmed al Hosni (Oman B) beat Badr al Sobhi & Mazin al Hosni (Oman A) 21-9 21-16