Qatar’s rising star and fourth seeds Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan held off Italians
Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi to start the FIVB Beach World Championships on a winning note in Hamburg, Germany.

The turning point of their opening Pool D match was the second set through which Younousse and Tijan sailed before wrapping up a come-from-behind 19-21, 21-14, 18-16 victory in 56 minutes.

In another match, Qatar’s second team of Tamer Abdelrasoul and Assam Mahmoud, both making debut, resisted spiritedly in the beginning against fifth seeds Ilya Leshukov and Konstantin Semenov from Russia but lost by 15-21, 14-21 in 28 minutes.

Younousse and Tijan failed to push the rivals in the closing stages of the first set. But they piled intense pressure on the Italians in the second set of their second career clash and clinched it with ease.

The Qatar’s No. 1 pair continued the momentum in the tie-break set, though it was decided in extended points. Younousse and Tijan drew deep from their experience and managed to seal the win.

Carambula and Rossi had troubled Younousse and Tijan in the Four-Star Xiamen Open in China April this year as well. They clinched the first set there too but the Qataris rallied superbly through aggressive play to win the Bronze Medal match by 13-21, 21-15, 15-10 in 46 minutes. This was the third time that Younousse and Tijan won the third place on the demanding World Tour.

Younousse and Tijan will next clash with Czech players Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner who outclassed higher-ranked opponents Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle Belgium 21-18, 21-11 in 21 minutes. After Saturday’s game, the fourth seeds will have a day’s rest before they take on the Belgians in their last pool match on Monday.

Abdelrasoul and Mahmoud are pitted against Brazilians Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho in their next match. Cerutti is a war horse on the Tour, having won the 2015 World Championship with Bruno Schmidt in The Hague, Netherlands. The pair also won the 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medal. Cerutti has had also the 2012 London Olympics silver medal under his belt in partnership with Emanuel Rego.

Results
Pool D
Round 1
Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (4) def. Adrian Carambula / Enrico Rossi Italy (45) 19-21, 21-14, 18-16 (0:56)
Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (28) def. Dries Koekelkoren / Tom van Walle Belgium (21) 21-18, 21-11 (0:21)

Pool E
Round 1
Ilya Leshukov / Konstantin Semenov Russia (5) def. Tamer Abdelrasoul / Assam Mahmoud Qatar (44) 21-15, 21-14 (0:28)
Alison Cerutti / Alvaro Filho Brazil (20) def. Billy Allen / Stafford Slick United States (29) 19-21, 21-15, 15-10 (0:52)