The AVC Beach Tour Doha Open 2026 continues on Monday with the men’s and women’s quarterfinals at the International Beach Volleyball Centre of Excellence in Al Gharrafa.
The tournament runs from 10 to 13 October, bringing together teams from eight countries.
Attention turns to Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who qualified for the quarterfinals after topping Pool A with three consecutive victories without dropping a set.
The Qatari pair will face Thailand’s Netithorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha at 5:40 p.m. on the main court, looking to secure a semifinal place and continue their pursuit of a podium finish.
Cherif and Tijan opened their campaign with a 21–15, 21–19 victory over Thailand’s S. Noppadon and T. Poravid. They then beat China’s Li Wei and Yuan Ningfei 21–9, 21–15 before completing the group stage with a 21–13, 21–9 win over Indonesia’s Firza and Rizqi.
The pair arrived in Doha following a season of major achievements, including a third consecutive Asian Games gold medal at Aichi–Nagoya 2026 in Japan, following their titles at Jakarta–Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.
They also won gold at the Sanya 2026 Asian Beach Games in China and received the award for Asia’s best men’s beach volleyball players for the 2025–2026 season.
Cherif and Tijan lead the men’s entry list with 4,660 points in the ranking used for the tournament, reinforcing their ambitions to maintain their winning form and challenge for the Doha title.
Quarterfinal schedule
The quarterfinals begin at 4:00 p.m. with three women’s matches.
On the main court, China’s Wei Luqian and Chen Yingshan face Japan’s Rin Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto.
On Court 2, Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn meet compatriots S. Samita and K. Somruedee.
On Court 3, Lebanon’s Myrna Cheikho and Lara El Nahi take on Australia’s Jana Milutinovic and Tara Phillips.
At 4:50 p.m., Australia’s Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker face Thailand’s S. Noppadon and T. Poravid on the main court.
At the same time, China’s Li Xiaokai and Sun Xinglong meet Australia’s Solomon Bushby and Justin Schumann on Court 2, while Japan’s Asami Shiba and Rika Murakami play China’s Fu Guirong and Cui Ruixuan on Court 3.
The quarterfinal programme concludes at 5:40 p.m., when Cherif and Tijan face their Thai opponents on the main court and Lebanon’s Hadi Shbib and Jad Abi Karam meet Australia’s Joshua Howat and Finlay Bennett on Court 2.
The knockout rounds continue ahead of Tuesday’s men’s and women’s bronze-medal matches, finals and medal presentations.
All times are Doha local time.