Life's a beach for golden pair

Duo looks to world championships and Paris Olympics following Asiad glory

Qatar's men's beach volleyball golden duo Cherif Samba and Ahmed Janko feel optimistic heading into the world championships in Mexico, less than a week after defending their Asian Games title on Thursday at the Ningbo Banbianshan Beach Volleyball Centre. The pair, who took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, defeated China's Abuduhalikejiang Mutailipu and Wu Jiaxin 2-0 in the final. It was Team Qatar's first gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

"It is a really good feeling going into the world championships after winning at the Asian Games," said Samba.

He added that, although they had set their sights on the gold, they were also in Hangzhou to prepare for the worlds, which will be held from Oct 6 to 15.

Janko shared this sentiment.

"It is amazing and such a fantastic feeling to get this gold medal, as it does not happen often. This competition only comes once every four years," said Janko.

"I am so happy to have (a gold medal) again. It looks so beautiful, and it is so heavy."

The pair completed their entire Hangzhou Asian Games journey without losing a single game. But the final match was especially difficult, they said. The Qatari pair spoke highly of their Chinese opponents.

Samba said the first round was particularly challenging as China was energized from fighting on its home turf.

"Mentally, it was really hard. We just tried to be focused for every single point and every single ball."

Janko agreed.

"China's pair played really well. We felt a little bit of pressure, but we ended up catching them out in the end," he said.

"You have to be patient and keep fighting to see if the others can handle the pressure. In the end, we broke them."

The Qatari pair said they enjoyed their Hangzhou Asian Games experience and the venue where they played.

"To see myself in this kind of place for the first time ... is a fantastic feeling," said Janko.

Samba, who enjoyed exchanging pins with new friends from across Asia during the Games, said: "There are great facilities and great courts. It feels like we are playing at the Olympics — everything is so perfect. It has been a pleasure to come here and meet new people. All of the people I have met in China are lovely."

The duo currently ranks third in the world, and they are eyeing top spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"We are proud of what we achieve, but the goal is always to look forward, and to try and improve every single step," Janko said.

Samba said: "We are here flying the Qatari flag as high as possible, like we did at the (Tokyo 2020) Olympics. We look forward to being at the next Olympic Games, because that is the highest stage. We are going to do our best and maybe win a different color next time."