The Qatari Olympians topped the podium in their seventh time playing together in the Swiss Alps
Published: 06 Jul 2025 - 07:06 pm | Last Updated: 06 Jul 2025 - 09:38 pm
Gstaad, Switzerland: Qatari Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan secured their second title in three Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour events this season on Sunday, triumphing at the prestigious Elite tournament held in Gstaad.
The Asians topped the podium at the Swiss Alps for the first time in their careers and had by their sides second-placed Swedish Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson and third-placed Dutch Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot.
In order to take gold in Gstaad, Cherif and Ahmed prevailed in two close sets (21-19, 22-20) over Hölting Nilsson and Andersson, stopping a big late push from the Swedish, who came back from a 20-15 deficit to avoid five matches points and level the score at 20 in the second set before Ahmed scored twice in a row to confirm the Qatari victory.
“They had been playing very well since the tournament started,” Cherif said. “So we were ready for everything. Their comeback in the second set was crazy, but we knew they were able to do it. There are no easy matches at this level and you need to expect anything.”
Cherif and Ahmed had somewhat of a late start to the 2025 season after taking bronze at last year’s Beach Pro Tour Finals, as the two didn’t appear in a Beach Pro Tour event until May, when they took gold at the Xiamen Challenge. After that, they played in the Ostrava Elite, in June, finishing fifth.
It took the Qatari Olympians seven attempts to claim the golden cowbells in Gstaad as they first played together in the Swiss village back in 2018.
“We need to thank the fans here in Gstaad,” Cherif added. “Since 2021, every time we play here, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the net, they always support us.”
