Younousse, Tijan clinch Newport Beach Elite title

Doha, Qatar: The great form of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour continued on Saturday, when the Qatari Olympic...

Doha, Qatar: The great form of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour continued on Saturday, when the Qatari Olympic medalists claimed the title of the Elite event held in Newport Beach.

Younousse and Tijan made it to the top of the podium in California, flanked by two South American duos, as Brazilians Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci finished second and the Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban ranked third in the tenth Elite event of the 2025 season.

The bronze medalists of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Younousse and Tijan made the most of every opportunity they had to compete in 2025, winning four golds, with victories in the Elite events held in Gstaad, Rio de Janeiro and Newport Beach and the Xiamen Challenge.

Disregarding the three forfeit defeats they were forced to accept at the Montréal Elite after Cherif got injured, the two have won 17 of their last 19 matches, including the last 11.

“Winning here feels amazing,” Ahmed commented. “My wife is from the United States, and I am very happy to be here and win the gold medal. It means so much to our entire family.”