President of Qatar Olympic Committee, H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani posing for a photograph with the Qatar 4x4 beach volleyball team after they won the silver medal on the final day of the ANOC World Beach Games at Katara beach, yesterday. Picture:
Qatar won a silver in men’s beach volleyball event – their maiden medal at the first ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 – as USA walked away with a gold after a hard-fought victory in the final, yesterday.
USA also won the women’s final yesterday, sweeping both the volleyball gold medals at Katara Beach.
The men’s volleyball final turned out to be the marquee event on last day of the six-day World Beach Games as spectators packed the stands to watch the home team compete for a gold medal against strong opponents.
The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, H H the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser were also among the audience.
While Qatar could not gave what the home fans wanted, they put up a spirited fight against the tough rivals before going down fighting in a thrilling match.
The score-line was 2-0 in favour of USA but the Qatari side gave their opponents a run for money for every point they earned.
After losing the first set 18-21, Qatar, seeking a leveler rejuvenated well, and forced tie-breaker thrice in the second set before USA sealed the epic set 26-24.
Americans got decisive advantage due to their superior blocking rate after they stopped 11 sure points as compared to Qatar’s 7 successful blocks.
The hosts, however, were aggressive making 63 attempts, with Cherif Younousse being their main contributor with 18 successful attempts.
In the first set, USA were on the lead from the beginning except for once when Qatar took an 8-7 lead after winning back-to-back points. But the Americans got control in the set to take early advantage.
The second set became a close affair after Qatar made a sensational comeback from 7-10 down to level the score. The sea-saw battle continued till the score reached the 16-16 mark. Qatar once again came back strongly at 18-20 to stretch the contest. The score was locked 23-23 at one stage before the Americans held their nerves to seal the title.
“We’re the number one team [at 4x4] in the world right now, so we’re accepting challenges, all around the world,” said USA’s Casey Patterson.
“The guys kept their consistent game, everyone got tighter and tighter as a foursome and we never had to change,” he added.
Qatar’s Denis Messelmani said: “I think they saw us in the semi-final, how we play. They were ready in the middle, they caused lots of difficulties with the outside spikers, and I think that’s what made the difference. But we are still one of the best teams in the world. We are proud to play against them very close and I think it was a very nice game.”
Indonesia secured bronze medal in the event after they prevailed over Poland 21-13, 19-21 and 15-11 in the third position match.
President of Qatar Olympic Committee, H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani handed over the medals to players.
In the women’s volleyball final, USA recorded a straight-set victory over Brazil after a commanding performance. It looked a comfortable win for them as they outclassed their opponents comfortably with scores of 21-16, 21-9. Canadians won the women’s bronze after beating Australia with a 17-21, 21-15 and 16-14 score-line.
Brazil, Denmark grab handball golds
Also yesterday, Brazil won the men’s handball gold after a brilliant fightback against Spain in an exciting final.
The Spaniards looked on course for a victory as they put up an aggressive display to win the first set 17-14. Brazil, who defeated an in-form Qatar in the semi-finals on Tuesday, bounced back and held their nerves in tense moments to win the next two sets. They edged out their European rivals 19-18 to level the score and then won the shootout 11-10 to seal gold medal.
“This is beach handball. Every time Brazil faces Spain it’s like that. Details matter and can determine a champion. Spain did an excellent job, but we also worked hard. We deserved to win,” said Gil De Paes Pires, who scored the decider for Brazil in shootout.
“Usually Bruno takes the last shot, a goal by one. Antonio Guerra, the coach, knows I am prepared to take any penalty shot but he said ‘Bruno will take it’. We are champions, that’s what matters. We are training hard three times a day, every day. We focus to do our job and win. It is hard to beat Brazil,” he added.
The bronze medal went to Sweden who defeated Qatar 2-1 in the tie-breaker. Qatar started off with a 16-10 win in the first set but lost momentum in remainder of the match as Sweden fought back to win the next two sets 21-16 and 9-6.
In the women’s handball final, favourites Denmark lived up to expectations and defeated Hungary 21-19, 15-14 while Brazil completed the podium after overcoming Vietnam 26-14, 23-18 in straight sets.
