Top seeds Hüper & Wüst of Germany off to flying start at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Lasse Hüper & Filo Wüst of Germany lived up to their top seeds status after an emphatic start to their Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games campaign on Saturday. A total of 16 boys’ matches were played on Saturday as the preliminary round got underway at the Saly Beach West with all 24 teams in action.

The boys’ top seeds Hüper & Wüst took early control of Pool A with convincing 2-0 sweeps over Morocco’s Yasser Errazi & Othmane Taghdouini (21-15, 21-14) and Namibia’s Rene Steinkopff & Robert Alexander Sinclair (21-03, 21-06).

Sierra Leone’s Sulaiman A. Bangura & Alie Kainesie also recorded straight set victories over Namibia’s Steinkopff & Sinclair (21-16, 21-13) and Morocco’s Yasser & Taghdouini (21-12, 21-08) to set-up a Pool A decider with the World U18 champions Hüper & Wüst on Sunday.

Hosts Souleymane Seck Ciss & Mouhamed Moustapha Sidibe delighted a sizable home crowd with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) sweep of Palau’s Linzy Moky Allen & Brendan Keane in their Pool F opener. On the other hand, Sweden’s Casper Tjernqvist & Henrik Brus emerged 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) winners over Türkiye’s Freddie Jude Foks & Polat Kemal Eser.

Austria’s second seeds Paul Hohenauer & Martin Poinstingl were flawless on opening day; cruising past Rares-Edward Pomian-Brad & Ronald Dylan Simpson of the Cayman Islands by 2-0 (21-02, 21-09) before beating Mulapwa Sakeni Jonathan & Gloire Nzazi Mutendi of The Democratic Republic of Congo by a similar margin (21-11, 21-13).

Hohenauer & Poinstingl will now play Iran’s Amirreza Jamshidi Khalkiasari & Amin Vakili on Sunday to determine who finishes top of Pool B. Jamshidi & Vakili edged out Mulapwa & Mutendi by 2-1 (21-14, 17-21, 15-07) in their opening match before sweeping aside Rares & Simpson by 2-0 (21-06, 21-05).

Australia’s Ryan Edgar & Thomas Turner begun their Pool C campaign with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) rout of Ghana’s Justice Adusei Amoafo & Daniel Lartey while Kazakhstan’s Alikhan Agabek & Orazali Sagynysh overcame Saudi Arabia’s Wafi Aljasir & Ali Alawami by 2-0 (21-13, 21-07).

Fourth seeds Ludvig Sødal Ringøen & Liam Karlsen of Norway recorded a convincing 2-0 (21-09, 21-05) win over South Africa’s Duncan Luke Davids & Evra Carter King in their Pool D opener. Meanwhile, Chile’s Gael Arias Saldias & Francisco Farias Valdivia defeated Justin Alfredo Barrios Dinarte & Matthew Eberhard Kempf Palacio of Nicaragua in straight sets (21-09, 21-16).

In Pool E, Brazil’s Gabriel Campos & Bruno Fellipe Lobo Silva Souza had to dig deep to defeat USA’s Caden Phillips & Gavin Mortensen by 2-0 (22-20, 30-28) in a thriller that lasted 45 minutes.

Venezuela’s Santiago Leandro Camejo Guerra & Moises David Yepez Ramirez got the better of Guatemala’s Joseph David Godoy Vásquez & Harold René Vásquez Solorzano with a comfortable 2-0 (21-18, 21-08) victory.

The pool phase will continue on Sunday with  a total of 20 boys' matches lined up. The top two teams from each pool, together with the two best third-placed teams, will advance directly to the Round of 16.

The four remaining third-placed teams will compete in an additional qualification round on 2 November, with the two winners securing the final spots in the 16-team single-elimination phase.

The Round of 16 will also take place on 2 November, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals on 3 November. The competition will conclude on 4 November with the bronze and gold medal matches.

Click here to visit the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Beach Volleyball event page.