Kazakhs Bogatu/Yakovlev took bronze
Ningbo, China, September 28, 2023 – Reigning champions Ahmed Tijan/Cherif Younousse of Qatar, current world No. 3 and Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalists, proved their superiority over Abuduhalikejiang/Wu Jiaxin after stunning the host duo 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) in the final showdown of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Men’s Beach Volleyball Competition on Thursday here at Xiangshan Beach Volleyball Center.
Cheered by thousands of home spectators, Abuduhalikejiang/Wu Jiaxin pushed hard against the powerful opponents from the beginning.
However, Qatar held the position and stuck to the hosts all the way. Both sides showcased their techniques in attacking and defense, which drew high praise from the audience.
The set turned out to be a seesaw battle. China took the narrow lead to reach the set point at 20-19 but they just let the win slip through their fingers. The Qataris scored two crucial points in a row to catch them at 20-20 and surged away to seal the first set 22-20.
Holding 1-0 advantage, Ahmed/Cherif played more flexibly in the second set. With targeted services and piercing attacks, they surged ahead Abuduhalikejiang/Wu to an initial 6-2 lead. China requested a timeout and thereafter, they seemed to be recharged for a series of heavy counterattacks.
They intensified aggressiveness of their service and narrowed the margin 10-11. But they also committed several service errors, which stopped their chasing pace. Qatar allowed no more chance for China and wrapped up the second set 21-16 for the match and the gold medal.
“It feels great to win the gold medal back to back at Asian Games. We are here to bring our national flag highest possible as we did in the Olympics, winning the bronze medal as no one else expected. It is a great pleasure to be here playing Asian Games with such fancy facilities, great court. It feels like to play in Olympics as everything is perfect. I would like to mark 10 points for the organization,” said Cherif.
“The final is never easy. The first set was not easy at all. They were playing at home. We just tried to keep our mind focused to each single point, to each single bout,” he added.
“Unfortunately, we did not win the match. We let all the supporters down. We were so close to winning the first set but we failed. It is the game. Anyway, we have tried our best,” said Abuduhalikejiang of China. “They are a strong team. Our strategy was to push them from the beginning. But we did not play well in some details. We will adjust ourselves as soon as possible and get prepared for the World Championships in Mexico.”
In the bronze medal contest earlier, Sergey Bogatu/Dmitriy Yakovlev of Kazakhstan edged out 2-0 (25-23, 30-28) in an action-packed and marathon-like battle against Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab of Iran.
“I don’t have words. I don’t feel anything. It was a great game. We waited for this day for two days. It was really hard, because after the semifinals we had one full day rest waiting for our game all day. I was really nervous as you can see in the game. But since we were at this stage, we just fought. And we played very well,” said Bogatu of Kazakhstan. “They are our friends. We are familiar with each other as we are in one Zone of AVC. We lost narrowly to Iran in the Olympic Qualification Round before the Asian Games. But this time we won. It was crazy!”
“It is a big dream for me. I would like to thank my partner, my coach,” said Yakovlev.
With the conclusion of men’s beach volleyball event, the beach volleyball competition of the 19th Asian Games came to a successful end.
In the women’s event, Chinese Xue Chen/Xia Xinyi grabbed the gold medal, with Japanese Sayaka Mizoe/Miki Ishii and Chinese Wang Fan/Dong Jie clinching silver and bronze respectively.
In the men’s event, Qataris Ahmed Tijan/Cherif Younousse successfully defended their title, while silver and bronze medals went to Chinese Abuduhalikejiang/Wu and Kazakhs Bogatu/Yakovlev respectively.
Ningbo, the second largest city of Zhejiang Province, enjoys a long history of over 7,000 years with plenty of historical and religious sites. Served as one of the co-host cities for the 19th Asian Games, Ningbo will host two events of beach volleyball and sailing in its coastal Xiangshan County. The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
MATCH RESULTS
MEN’S BRACKET
MEDALLISTS
Gold medal – Ahmed/Cherif (Qatar)
Silver medal – Abuduhalikejiang/Wu (China)
Bronze medal – Bogatu/Yakovlev (Kazakhstan)
FINAL RANKING
MEDALLISTS BY EVENT
MEDAL STANDING
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