Local stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will try to match or even better their 2018 performance as the 4-Star Katara Beach Volleyball Open takes place at the scenic Katara Cultural Village from March 9 to 13,
Hosts Qatar are, in all, fielding three pairs. Other two teams are represented by Issam Mahmoud with Mahdi Sammoud and Saifeddine Elmajid with Ziad Abdelmajeed.
Several teams have already arrived in Qatar and began preparations for the event, just as the Qatari players went through their motions on Wednesday.
From 28 countries, over 51 teams are competing for the 800 ranking points.
Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban will return to defend the gold medal they won last year. It was their first 4-Star title when they defeated the USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) in the final.
Lucena and Dalhausser will also be back in action and are one of six USA teams on the entry list.
Qatar have built up a strong tradition of hosting World Tour events since they organised their first event in 2014. Two more followed in 2015 and 2016, then in 2018, the tournament grew from a 3-Star tournament to a 4-Star tournament