DOHA, Qatar — Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan and Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee captured the men’s and women’s titles, respectively, at the AVC Beach Tour 2nd Doha Open 2026, concluding four days of competition in the Qatari capital.
The host nation celebrated a championship victory in the men’s competition as Cherif and Ahmed defeated Australia’s Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker 2-0 (21-13, 21-18) in the final, while Thailand’s Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn overcame Japan’s Asami Shiba and Reika Murakami 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) to secure the women’s crown.
The tournament, held from Oct. 10-13, featured 27 teams across both divisions, bringing together established international pairs and emerging beach volleyball talent.
Cherif and Ahmed deliver home victory for Qatar
Competing on home sand, Cherif and Ahmed maintained their strong form throughout the tournament to secure another continental title.
The Qatari pair entered the competition as the top-ranked men’s team and advanced through the knockout rounds with straight-set victories.
In the quarterfinals, they defeated Thailand’s Netitorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha 2-0 before overcoming Australia’s Joshua Howat and Finley Bennett by the same margin in the semifinals.
Facing Merritt and Walker in the championship match, Cherif and Ahmed established control early, taking the opening set 21-13. The Australians offered stronger resistance in the second, but the Qatari duo maintained their advantage to close out the match 21-18.
The victory added to the pair’s recent success at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, where they also captured the men’s beach volleyball championship.
Merritt and Walker finished as runners-up after an impressive campaign that included a 2-0 semifinal victory over fellow Australians Solomon Bushby and Justin Schumann.
Australia also secured third place in the men’s competition, with Bushby and Schumann defeating compatriots Howat and Bennett 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) in the third-place match.
Thailand’s Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn claim women’s title
Thailand’s Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn delivered an equally impressive performance in the women’s competition, defeating Japan’s Shiba and Murakami in straight sets to secure the championship.
The Thai pair, who entered the tournament as the third-ranked team, advanced to the final after defeating fellow Thais Samitta Simarongnam and Somruedee Koedkaew 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
They then overcame Japan’s Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto 2-1 in the semifinals to book a championship meeting with Shiba and Murakami.
In the final, Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn edged the opening set 21-19 before taking control of the second, winning 21-12 to complete a straight-set victory.
Shiba and Murakami finished as runners-up after reaching the final without dropping a set in the knockout rounds, defeating China’s Fu Guirong and Cui Ruixuan in the quarterfinals and Australia’s Jana Milutinovic and Tara Phillips in the semifinals.
Australia completed the women’s top three as Milutinovic and Phillips defeated Japan’s Ren and Non Matsumoto 2-0 (21-11, 21-17) in the third-place match.
Doha Open concludes with Qatar, Thailand and Australia among leading finishers
The tournament concluded with Qatar and Thailand taking the men’s and women’s championships, respectively, while Australia secured three of the six top-three finishes across both divisions.
In the men’s competition, Qatar emerged as champions, followed by Australia’s Merritt and Walker as runners-up and Bushby and Schumann in third place.
Thailand topped the women’s competition, with Japan’s Shiba and Murakami finishing as runners-up and Australia’s Milutinovic and Phillips securing third place.
The AVC Beach Tour 2nd Doha Open 2026 provided another opportunity for the continent’s leading beach volleyball pairs to compete at the international level, reinforcing the continued development of beach volleyball across Asia and the growing importance of the AVC Beach Tour in the regional competition calendar.
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