Qatari duo Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan completed a historic Asian Games hat-trick Saturday, recovering from a set down to defeat Indonesia’s Bintang Akbar and Sofyan Rachman Efendi 19-21, 21-16, 15-8 in the men’s beach volleyball final at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.Japan’s Taito Mizumachi and Kota Kurosawa claimed bronze after beating Thailand’s Poravid Taovato and Pithak Tipjan in the third-place decider match.The victory at Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court gave the Qatari team their third consecutive Asian Games gold medal, extending a remarkable run that began at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and continued at Hangzhou 2022, staged in 2023. The same Qatari pair have now stood on top of the men’s beach volleyball podium at three successive editions of the continental Games.Indonesia made the stronger start in the final match and took the opening set 21-19. The contest remained tight early in the second before the experienced Qataris began to build an advantage, pulling clear in the latter stages to take it 21-16 and force a deciding set.Qatar then seized control of the third from the outset, establishing an early advantage and preventing Indonesia from rediscovering the rhythm that had carried them through the opening set. Younousse and Tijan continued to stretch the margin before closing out the decider 15-8 to complete the comeback and secure another Asian Games crown.For Indonesia, the turning point came with an ankle injury to Akbar. Efendi said the pair had begun to lose their concentration as the problem developed: “During the match my partner’s ankle got injured. We won the first set, but during the second set we started to lose focus, and finally in the third set we became more unfocused,” Efendi said.The triumph carried particular meaning because of the injury problems that had threatened Younousse’s participation earlier in the year. Speaking after the final, Tijan said he had doubted whether his partner would even be able to make it to Japan.“It was not an easy journey for us, but I’m so proud of my partner. It was unbelievable; he surprised me,” Tijan said. “I didn’t believe he could make it here, not even talking about achieving a medal. It’s unbelievable. He put in a lot of work. Without him, I couldn't make it here alone.“He really fought. He’s a true fighter. It’s a big sacrifice to fight in this short period to be able to come back and especially to achieve a medal. This is a true legendary achievement.”The president of the Qatar Volleyball Federation Ali Ghanim al-Kuwari later confirmed that, according to the original medical programme, Younousse had not been expected to return to competition before November. His condition improved sufficiently to allow the pair to compete, but the federation continued to monitor him and manage his workload throughout the Games.“Cherif has still not reached 100 per cent fitness, yet together with Ahmed he produced a high level of performance,” al-Kuwari said. “They overcame difficult circumstances, reached the final and won the gold medal. That reflects the character of the players, their fighting spirit and their determination to represent Qatar in the best possible way.”He added: “Winning gold is a major achievement in itself, but retaining the title for a third successive time gives this victory a special value and confirms the position that Qatari beach volleyball has reached at the Asian level.”For Younousse, the third title carried even greater significance than the first: “It’s very sweet for us. I think it’s sweeter than the first one,” he said.His thoughts then moved immediately towards the next edition, which Qatar will host in Doha in 2030: “Hopefully we’re going to be able to keep doing it for the next one,” Younousse said. “That one will be sweeter because we’re going to be at home.”The prospect of defending the title on home sand gives the pair a potential fourth consecutive Asian Games crown to chase, although Tijan acknowledged that the landscape is changing as younger teams emerge across Asia: “Now we are growing old, the young ones are coming, you see Indonesia, they’re very young, Japan is young,” he said.“Experience always plays a big role, and we will stick with the experience, and the rest we will keep it secret, because we have to.”Their longevity has been built around a complementary partnership which Tijan described with characteristic simplicity: “He’s one of the best blockers in Qatar, I’m one of the best defenders in Qatar, so we have to stick together and love what we are doing and enjoy what we are doing,” he said. “We feel bored sometimes, but we love it in the end. The partnership is amazing.”The three Asian Games titles form only part of Younousse and Tijan’s record together. They won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020, securing Qatar’s first Olympic medal in beach volleyball, and later finished fourth at Paris 2024.Their continental record also includes three Asian Beach Volleyball Championship titles in 2018, 2019 and 2022, while they added Asian Beach Games gold at Sanya 2026 earlier this year.
