Qatari pair Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will play the eliminator after they won their first pool match but lost the second in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Katara Cup 2019 at the Katara Cultural Village Amphitheatre yesterday.
The Asian Games and Asian champions Younousse and Tijan started well in Pool A as they cruised past Omani newcomers Nouh al-Jalbubi and Mazin al-Hashmi 21-13, 21-16. But they suffered a three-set loss against Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena.
Younousse and Tijan had bagged their first FIVB Beach World Tour bronze when they had held off world bronze medallists Dalhausser and Lucena in three sets. But they looked like repeating their victory when they clinched the opening set easily.
However, Dalhausser, who won the Olympic Games and World Championship gold medals with Todd Rogers, and Lucena piled pressure through their experience in the second set. From 16-15 lead, they were on a roll and went on to complete a 13-21, 21-17, 15-9 victory in 44 minutes.
With two wins, Dalhausser and Lucena headed the pool and qualified straight for the second knockout round, while Younousse and Tijan, along with Canadians Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter, advanced to the first eliminator.
Qatar’s second pair of Tamer Abdelrasoul and Assam Mahmoud lost both their matches in Pool B and bowed out. They first suffered a 12-21, 16-21 defeat at the hands of second seeds Michal Bryl and Grzegorz Fijalek from Poland. Then they went down to Chilean Gramalt cousins Esteban and Marco in straight sets at 8-21, 16-21. 
In the other main round action, 11 FIVB World Beach Tour titles holder Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins, the third seeds from Latvia, failed to register any win in Pool C and bowed out.
Estonian qualifiers Kusti Nolvak and Mart Tiisaar took just 32 minutes to beat them 21-14, 21-18. Americans Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb also dashed their hopes of staying in the tournament when they pulled off an upset 21-17, 21-12 victory in 34 minutes.
The third big flutter was caused by newly-formed Brazilian team of Vitor Felipe and 2013 world’s best blocker Pedro Solberg. They surprised defending champions and seventh seeds Dutch Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in three sets.