As beach volleyball commemorates its 20th anniversary as an Olympic sport, debutants Qatar look for their own share of joy at the Games in Rio.
Qatar’s Jefferson Pereira and Cherif Younousse, who made the Olympic cut by winning the Asian Volleyball Confederation’s Continental Cup in Australia, are relishing the prospect of playing at the exotic Copacabana Beach.
The pair have been in good form of late as they had also triumphed at the FIVB World Tour’s inaugural Kish Island Open in Iran and reached the quarterfinal of the World Championships in the Netherlands.
To get accustomed to the conditions, Pereira and Cherif left early for Brazil and are putting finishing touches to their preparations at the Barra de Tujiuca Beach in the host city.
Twenty six-year-old Pereira, a Rio native, and Cherif, who is five years younger than him, are excited.
“This season, we’ve had some great results against strong opponents and we hope to continue that in Rio,” Cherif told Doha Stadium Plus before leaving for Rio.
At the Olympics, 24 teams are drawn into six groups. Qatar are in Group F, which also includes USA, Spain and Austria.
Pereira, who shifted his base to Qatar three years ago, is upbeat about the prospect of competing at Copacabana beach.
“Copacabana is considered to be the capital of world beach volleyball. I’ll have family and lots of friends cheering for me. It would be a great occasion and I want to make our debut memorable,” said Pereira.
Cherif echoed his team-mate’s views.
“We worked so hard to reach this stage. We had to leave our families behind and go abroad to train. The sacrifices we made have paid off as we’ll be part of history. We’re optimistic of a decent show,” said Cherif.
It remains to be seen whether the duo makes it to the knockout stage or not. But, for sure, the credit goes to them for having taken Qatar beach volleyball to the world’s ultimate stage.