Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2021: Qatar’s top beach volleyball pair Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan cemented their Tokyo Olympic ambitions by reaching the final of the FIVB 4-star Cancun hub event in Mexico on Tuesday, April 20.
Cherif, a 25-year-old Rio 2016 Olympian, and the 25-year-old Ahmed - gold medallists at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang - lost to world No. 1 pairing Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway 21-19, 22-20 in the gold medal match.
But the silver-medal finish will boost their hopes of entering the Tokyo Olympics this summer, with the result expected to elevate them up the International Volleyball Federation Olympic rankings.
As of March 16, 2021, Cherif and Ahmed were placed 12th in the Provisional Olympic Rankings. The 15 highest ranked teams on the Olympic Rankings as of June 2021 will earn one quota place for their National Olympic Committee to the Tokyo Games.
Last month at the Katara Cup, another 4-star event, in Qatar, Cherif and Ahmed finished fifth. Their runner-up finish in Cancun will earn them 720 points boosting their Olympic chances.
