Qatar topped giant-slayers China in the men’s final of the AVC Continental Cup and earned a ticket for the upcoming Rio Olympic Games beach volleyball.
At the Cairns Esplanade, Australia on Sunday, Qatar’s both pairs dropped the opening set but rallied brilliantly to subdue the rivals 2-0 and clinch the coveted title.
Hosts Australia won women’s title and they will now have a second team to travel to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games alongside the already-qualified Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy.
Jefferson Santos Pereira and Cherif Younousse went 0-1 behind to the Chinese Li Jian and Li Zhuoxin. However, determined not to let the golden chance slip off, they bounced back to claim the second and the tie-break sets to put Qatar 1-0 up.
In the second rubber, Julio Cesar do Nascimento also trailed 0-1 when they lost to Ha Likejiang and Bao Jian. Egged on by the pep talk from coach Pedro Paulo Costa, they clinched the nerve-wracking second set in extended points.
Then in the tie-break set, they controlled the points to stay clear. At 11-14, the Chinese player served out to spark wild scenes of jubilation at the venue and Qatar managed to win a spot in the Rio Olympics after working hard so long for this glorious moment.
Countries are represented by two teams at the Continental Cup and matches are played over the best of three rubbers but through the Continental Cup, only one pair from title-winning team will be able to go through.
Pereira and Younousse are the pair likely to travel to Rio having won the Kish Island Open in February this year and reached the Netherlands 2015, FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships quarter-finals.
“We worked so hard for this moment,” Pereira said. “The last month was so stressful, we trained just for this moment. Everyone left their family and went outside to train, it was so stressful, but we did it. We are going to the Olympics. We are now part of the history of Qatar now.
“The country has no history in beach volleyball. I moved to Qatar to try and raise beach volleyball, and now we have made a huge step towards growing the sport in Qatar,” added Pereira.
Qatar Volleyball Association Executive Director Ahmed al Shibani, who is also with the team in Australia, expressed his gratitude to the Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and Qatar Olympic Committee President His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani for their huge support to sports in Qatar.
“We’re proud to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games beach volleyball. It would have not been possible without an all-out backing from the Emir and Sheikh Joaan. Also I want to congratulate all the members of the team and the QVA, headed by Khalid Ali al Mawlawi, for this wonderful achievement.
“We were really focused on the job. All the members of the team did their bit. Australia were the biggest threat and we steadily took one step forward at a time. We defeated all our rivals. We had been really striving hard for the Rio Olympics qualification and we’re thrilled to have secured the dream victory in Australia,” added Shibani.
Coach Costa was both delighted and proud with his team’s massive efforts.
“This is really a huge, huge success for us. I want to thank the association for having faith in me. I feel a great pride for what our team has done in Australia,” commented Costa.
“I am sure the QVA will keep believing in me and it will try to use this success to lift the sport further so that we can continue to grow strong in future. This is not a small feat. All the teams have difficult phases. We also had our problems but we worked seriously and found the solutions.
“Right from the beginning, we’re targeting the Continental Cup and we finally managed to do it. It is really unbelievable for me. I think the feeling has not soaked up yet…it is too good to feel now. It was a perfect result by perfect team work. I’m indeed proud of my players for putting in their more than 100 percent.
“We must use this success and build the beach volleyball base in Qatar much stronger. We are indeed proud of our team’s great performance in Australia. Now we have qualified for the Rio Games, we’ve to plan our future course so that we can raise our game and do well in Brazil,” said Costa, who coached Paraguay in the 2014 Youth Olympics.
China and Kazakhstan, who won silver and bronze in the men’s competition and Vanuatu and China, the women’s silver and bronze medallists, will now have one last chance to reach Rio 2016 when they face the other Continental Cup silver and bronze medal winners at the final Olympic qualifiers in Sochi, Russia from July 6 to 10.
Results

Men’s gold medal
Qatar beat China 2-0
Jefferson/Cherif (QAT) beat Li/Li Zhuoxin (CHN) 17-21 21-15 23-21
Julio/Ahmed Tijan (QAT) beat Ha Likejiang/Bao J. (CHN) Julio/Ahmed Tijan 18-21 26-24 15-11
Men’s bronze medal
Kazakhstan beat Australia 2-1
Sidorenko/Dyachenko (KAZ) lost to M Kapa/McHugh (AUS) 20-22 20-22
Kuleshov/Yakolev (KAZ) beat Court/Schumann (AUS) 21-13 21-19
Sidorenko/Dyachenko (KAZ) beat M Kapa/McHugh (AUS) 21-14 21-19
Women’s gold medal
Australia beat Vanuatu 2-0
Artacho Del Solar/Laird (AUS) beat Matauatu/Pata (VAN) 19-21, 21-19, 19-17
Bell/Palmer (AUS) beat Joe/Toko (VAN) 22-20, 21-16
Women’s bronze medal
China beat Japan 2-0
Xue/X. Y. Xia (CHN) beat Take/Mizoe (JPN) 21-16 15-21 15-3
Chen Chunxia/Tang N. Y. (CHN) beat Ishii/Murakami (JPN) 26-24 21-15
Final standings:

Men
1. Jefferson/Cherif QAT
Julio/Ahmed Tijan QAT
2. Li/Li Zhuoxin CHN
HA Likejiang/Bao J. CHN
3. Sidorenko/Dyachenko KAZ
Kuleshov/Yakovlev KAZ
4. Kapa/McHugh AUS
Schumann/Court AUS
5. B. Salemi/R.Raoufi IRI
Kamal/A. Mirzaali IRI
Takahashi/Hasegawa JPN
Shiratori/Ageba JPN
Watson/O’Dea NZL
Ben O’Dea/Lochead NZL
Candra/Fahri INA
Danang/Gilang INA
Women
1.Artacho Del Solar/Laird AUS
Palmer/Bell AUS
2. Matauatu/Pata VAN
Joe/Toko VAN
3. Xue/X. Y. Xia CHN
Chen Chunxia/Tang N. Y. CHN
4. Take/Mizoe JPN
Ishii/Murakami JPN
5. Dhita/Putu INA
Desi/Yokebed INA
Mashkova/Tsimbalova KAZ
Samalikova/Nikitina KAZ
Radarong/Udomchavee THA
Numwong/Hongpak THA
Liu P. H./ Kou, Nai-Han TPE
Chang, Y.C./Wu S.F. TPE
* Written by: Raajiv Tripathi, Qatar Tribune