DOHA, Qatar — The AVC Beach Tour 2nd Doha Open begins Saturday, bringing together 27 men’s and women’s teams from across Asia and beyond for four days of competition in the Qatari capital from Oct. 10-13.
The tournament features 16 men’s teams and 11 women’s teams, with Qatar welcoming international competitors for another stop on the Asian Volleyball Confederation’s beach volleyball circuit.
Attention will be on Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who enter the men’s competition as the top-ranked pair in the confirmed entry list. The experienced duo will look to build on their recent success at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, where they captured the men’s beach volleyball championship.
Cherif and Ahmed headline Pool A alongside China’s Li Wei and Yuan Nengfei, Thailand’s Nobphadon Sukphuwong and Poravid Taovato, and Indonesia’s Ferza Mulyo Prasetyo and Rizqy Purnomosidi Akbar.
The Qatari pair will open their campaign against Thailand’s Nobphadon and Poravid on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. local time.
Japan’s Takumi Takahashi and Jumpei Ikeda lead Pool B, which also features Australia’s Solomon Bushby and Justin Schumann, Lebanon’s Hadi El Chabib and Jad Abi Karam, and China’s Dong Shaoquan and Hong Weiqiang.
Australia’s Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker headline Pool C, while Thailand’s Netitorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha lead Pool D.
Host Qatar will field three men’s pairs, including Cherif and Ahmed, Musa Alkeer Mou and Mohamed Ihab Zaki, and Saifeddine Binaziz Elmajid and Ahmed Mahmoud Assam.
In the women’s competition, Japan’s Asami Shiba and Reika Murakami enter as the top-ranked pair, leading an 11-team field that includes representatives from Japan, Thailand, Australia, China, Lebanon and Qatar.
Shiba and Murakami will look to continue their strong performances on the AVC Beach Tour, while fellow Japanese pair Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto enter as the second-ranked team.
Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee are also among the leading contenders, alongside Australia’s Jana Milutinovic and Tara Phillips.
The host nation will have three women’s pairs competing on home sand, with Haya Abuissa and Leyla Mohammad Bahmanzadeh, Aisha Sultan Al-Alawi and Nelly Amr Shalaby, and Malak Mohd Hashim and Sheqaf Ismail representing Qatar.
Women’s opening-day matches begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, with Japan’s Ren and Non Matsumoto facing Qatar’s Malak and Sheqaf, while Thailand’s Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn meet Qatar’s Aisha and Nelly.
The men’s opening matches are scheduled to begin at 5:50 p.m., with Japan’s Takahashi and Ikeda facing Lebanon’s Hadi and Jad, among the first contests of the tournament.
Pool play continues through Oct. 11, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals on Oct. 12. The third-place matches and championship finals in both divisions are scheduled for Oct. 13.
With established international pairs and emerging competitors sharing the courts, the AVC Beach Tour 2nd Doha Open provides another opportunity for athletes to compete at the continental level and strengthen their presence in Asian beach volleyball.
The tournament also reinforces Qatar’s role in hosting international beach volleyball events as the AVC continues to develop competition opportunities across the continent.
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