Doha [Qatar], September 9: Qatar athletes will be heading into the 20th Asian Games 'Aichi-Nagoya 2026' in Japan with real medal hopes in squash, and a shot at making history in padel, which will feature at the Games for the first time.
The Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel and Badminton Federation named the squads this week for the Asian Games which will run from September 19 to October 4. For the padel players especially, this is a big one - the sport's Asian Games debut comes after years of rapid growth on the domestic scene, and Qatar wants to make an early statement rather than just make up the numbers.
In squash, Qatar will aim to challenge for medals in both the singles and team events, with the squad drawing on considerable experience from Asian and international competitions.
The squad brings genuine tournament pedigree. Head coach Amir Wajih Radwan and team manager Nasser Ahmed Al Obaidli will lead a group of four players - AbdullaAl Tamimi, Syed Azlan Iqbal, Salem Yousef Al Malki and Ali Ahmed Al Darwish.
Al Tamimi carries most of the weight of expectation. He's already been here before, taking bronze in the men's singles at the 2023 Hangzhou Games - the first Asian Games squash medal any Qatari has ever won. He followed that up this year with silver at the Asian Squash Championships in Malaysia, and his resume includes a win over former world champion Tarek Momen of Egypt at a Qatar Squash Federation event, plus titles in Cape Town, Atlanta and Doha. He'll want the podium finish in Japan that eluded him at gold in Hangzhou.
Padel is the newer story. The sport only came under the federation's wing in January 2020, but the growth since then has been quick. Qatar took silver at the inaugural Asian Padel Championships in Doha earlier this year - runners-up on home turf - and qualified for the Padel World Cup back in 2021 after beating Japan in the Asia-Africa qualifying final. There was also a Gulf Padel Challenge Cup title in 2022, and, more recently, wins over Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at this year's Gulf Games in Doha.
The padel delegation for Aichi-Nagoya is built around coaches Pablo Nicolas Sisti and Florencia Sofia Galdo, with Rashid Nawaf Nayef, Mishari Nawaf Nayef, Hassan Adel Wali and Mohammed Saadoun Al Kuwari making up the men's side. Maha Abdul Redha Faramarzi, Hanan Hassan Al Abdulrahman, Mariam Mansour Al Sultan and Dana Mohammed Al Mudahka will represent the women.
Coaches have leaned particularly hard on building chemistry between pairs - the Al Kuwari and Wali partnership has had extra attention in training - with camps held both at home and abroad in the buildup.
The squash squad, meanwhile, has spent recent weeks on conditioning and sharpening technical and tactical work, with a run of friendlies designed to get the players tournament-sharp before they land in Japan.
Tariq Zainal, Secretary General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel and Badminton Federation, said the two teams are fully prepared for the Asian Games and confident of producing strong performances.
Zainal said the preparations had strengthened the teams' ambitions and expressed confidence in the players' ability to advance deep into the competitions and challenge for medals.
He added that the federation's ambitions extend beyond medals to the continued development of racket sports in Qatar, encouraging younger generations to take up the sports and strengthening Qatar's presence on the Asian and international stages.
The Qatar Olympic Committee has confirmed a 243-athlete delegation for Aichi-Nagoya, with the full traveling party - athletes, coaches, administrators and media - totaling 427 people. Qatar will compete across 26 sports and 32 disciplines, represented by 18 national federations.
Source: Qatar Tribune
