Beach Youth Olympic Games 2026

Chinese top seeds Zhuang Ming & Qi S.Y. bounce back to secure Round of 16 berth

Senegal’s Segnane & Amina also scrape through to Round of 16 as preliminary round concludes

Published 09:54, 01 Nov 2026

ZHUANG Ming/QI S.Y. (CHN) vs. MARTINEZ/GOMEZ (PAR) - Pool A #132429940

China’s Ming Zhuang recovered from an injury scare to team up with Siyu Qi and secure a crucial 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) win over Paraguay’s Sofia Martinez & Maria Estefania Gomez Martinez on Sunday that confirmed their place in the Round of 16 at the ongoing Dakar 2026 Olympic Games.

A total of 20 girls’ matches were played on Sunday as the preliminary round concluded at the Saly Beach West with all 24 teams in action.

The top two teams from each pool, together with the two best third-placed teams advanced directly to the Round of 16. The four remaining third-placed teams will compete in an additional qualification round on Monday morning, with the two winners securing the final spots in the 16-team single-elimination phase.

Zhuang’s injury had caused forfeiture of their Pool A match against Canada’s Julia McDougall & Natalia Casas on Saturday with the set scores tied at 1-1. But she made an emphatic return on Sunday with the win over Paraguay securing the Chinese second place in the pool on a 2-1 win-loss record.

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Canada’s McDougall & Casas finished top on a 3-0 record after defeating The Gambia’s Fatima Sanneh & Kaddy Saidy in straight sets (21-08, 21-08). Paraguay’s Martinex & Gomez also made it to the Round of 16 on 1-2 as one of the two best third-placed teams.

Senegal’s Nafi Segnane & Fatou Thiam continued their fine run with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) win over Zoe Paniagua Portorreal & Yerelin Carlenis Reyes Montero of The Dominican Republic but later lost by a similar margin (15-21, 14-21) to the eventual Pool F leaders Goh Yu Heng & Jing Yi Ong of Malaysia.

Cadence & Jing Yi had earlier thrashed Cape Verde’s Gabriela De Fátima Santos Dos Reis & Yenda Sofia Wahnon Neves Mendes by 2-0 (21-04, 21-09) while Zoe & Reyes cemented second place with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) rout of the Islanders.

The home team of Segnane & Amina also made it to the Round of 16 as one of the two best third-placed teams on a 2-1 record.

Jara Both & Matilda de Groot of The Netherlands extended their winning streak to three matches with a 2-0 (21-07, 21-06) victory over Greece’s Angeliki Charissaki & Grigoria Anna Margaritopoulou that guaranteed them first place in Pool B. Thailand’s Ainthira Ninsonthi & Phatthanan Wongnongwaeng beat Tunisia’s Lamis Lourassi & Israa Bouaziz by 2-0 (21-11, 21-05) to claim second place on a 2-1 record.

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Mexico’s Angela Perez Araujo & Celia Yazbeth López Higuera edged out the Swiss third seeds Anja Gähwiler & Noemi Eugster by 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-13) and followed it up with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-06) sweep of Puerto Rico’s Dana Marina Rodriguez Vives & Arialeey Sofia Serrano Villanueva to claim top spot in Pool C.

To secure second place, Gähwiler & Eugster bounced back with a 2-0 (21-07, 23-21) win over Ecuador’s Isabella Habze Amoretti & Katherine Scarlette Parraga Barela who had earlier lost by 1-2 (15-21, 21-15, 15-17) to Rodriguez & Serrano.

Italy’s fourth seeds Margherita Coretti & Micol Lafuenti were at their brilliant best on Sunday when they overcame Nigeria’s Pamela Miyoum Bawa & Joy Lawrence in straight sets (21-15, 21-16) and Japan’s Auru Kato & Mei Nakagawa by a similar margin (21-15, 21-08) to finish top of Pool D on a 3-0 record.

Earlier, Pamela & Joy had beaten Egypt’s Karma Badawy & Marwa Mamdouh Salem Saleh by 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) to secure second spot before the North Africans recovered to stun Kato & Nakagawa with a hard-fought 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) win.

The Argentine duo of Angeles Frascaroli & Garcia Curado Isabella turned on class to emerge as Pool E leaders. Frascaroli A & Garcia C I posted 2-0 wins over Guam’s Alessandra Leon Guerrero & Erica Cassidy (21-15, 21-12) and Mozambique’s Assucena Xavier Mabjaia & Célia Nelson Machava (21-09, 21-13) to take their unbeaten run to three matches.

France’s Mathilde Berthaudeau & Malo Mir began with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) sweep of Assucena & Célia before edging out Leon Guerrero & Cassidy by 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 15-10) for a second-place finish on a 2-1 record.

The Round of 16 will take place on Monday followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals on 3 November. The competition will conclude on 4 November with the bronze and gold medal matches.