Doha: Jefferson Parreira is eyeing an Olympic spot with a better performance at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Doha Open.
“I am looking forward to having better results this year, as now me and Cherif Younnouse are playing together on the tour. We have some good results to show so far,” Parreira told Gulf Times on the eve of the start of the main draw yesterday.
Last year, Qatar teams failed to reach knock-out stage. The 26-year-old Parreira, who is leading Qatar’s challenge at the Open, also hopes their good show in the World Championship in the Netherlands, will serve as a morale booster in Doha.
“Our fifth place finish in the world championship is a big motivating factor for us. I am looking forward to producing better results this year… like getting into the final, semi-final as we as a team have really improved,” he said.
Talking about his partnership with the 20-year-old Younnouse, he said: “I think we’re on the right track. Last year it was our first tournament in Qatar and we were playing with different partners and failed to live up to the expectations. Nobody knew us before the world championship, because we haven’t played a lot before, but I think we did a great job.
“We were without points on the tour last year and that is the reason we were not seen much on the tour this year. We are combining well as a team now and if we secure points from this tournament you will see us more in action.”
Talking about the competition that they will face in Doha, he said: “If we win here we stand a chance to book an Olympic spot. If not, then we have another chance in Australia. But I hope we live up to the expectations of the local crowd during the week. We have to focus on each game and be successful.”
“After the qualification round, we will know about our opponents in the first round of the tournament, but the level of the teams are same. All the 32 teams are equally strong, so the draw does not matter much. Whoever plays better on the day will win,” he said.
The Olympic ranking is established based on the FIVB World ranking points. The 12 best performances in the World Championships, World Tour events and Continental Tour Finals (best of the two results) from January 1, 2015 until June 12, 2016 are eligible for a direct entry.
A total of 142 countries from around the world took part in the qualification process for the 2012 Olympic Games, with the debut of the Continental Cup and the World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament. The second Qatar team the fray comprises of Mahmoud Assam and Ahmad Tijan.