A day before they take to the sand at the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games in Doha, they are primed to wear the green and gold with pride.

“I’m so excited to show what Australian karate athletes can do,” 18-year-old Sampani said. “I didn’t believe it when I qualified for the Beach Games, I just started screaming with joy.

“I’ve been working even harder since I got selected - you just want to make your country proud and show you deserve the selection and they can trust you and believe in you to represent Australia.”

While 21-year-old Yuen has competed internationally, the multisport nature of the World Beach Games was an experience he was savouring.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of a multi-sport team, sharing in that experience with athletes from  around the country and so many sports on the same Team,” he said. “Being the first ever ANOC World Beach Games, it’s also pretty inspiring to be part of something historic.”

Yuen and Sampani compete in Kata, which directly translates as ‘patterns’, performing a routine of karate techniques and movements that are judged on execution and technical difficulty.

Yuen practices the Goju-Ru style, which translates as ‘hard and soft’.

“The katas I do there is a lot of contrast between the moves – I’ll do a very fast intense technique then a slow steady one,” Yuen said. “It’s a lot of control, going from zero to 100 then back to zero smoothly.”

“I find it really interesting in Kata the different ways to maximise your body – adding in sand adds in another level and I’m excited to work on adapting my kata to get the most out of the different conditions.”

Sampani was focusing on transitioning her years of training to performing on the beach in Doha.

“When I walk on the tatami I need to get my game face on and imagine I am in a fight – you need to demonstrate power and intensity to compete against the top athletes.

“Competing on sand rather than tatami will be really different – how to transition through stances as the sand is moving and maintaining that intensity. I’m working as hard as I can to perform the kata I know I can do, and not let the heat or the sand change what I know I’m capable of.”

Both Yuen and Sampani started Karate in the same way – being invited to a class by childhood friends.

“When I look back and see myself and my friend just having a go at karate for the first time as kids, I never imagined sport could take me this far,” Sampani said. “Being on a team at a global event and now Karate being part of the Olympic program – it’s crazy to think about. Every athlete’s dream is to represent your country at the Olympics and now that’s real for us, it’s so special."

You can catch Shaun, Marianna and the 40-strong Australian Team on the livestream at www.olympics.com.au/live-stream.

Find out more on the team here and check out the full schedule at www.awbgqatar.com.