President of Qatar Boxing and Wrestling Federation (QBWF) Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid al-Thani underlined the keenness on developing all elements including boxers, wrestlers, coaches, clubs, academies and private centres, with the aim of expanding the base and attracting young people and talents capable of representing Qatar at all levels.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Sheikh Fahad noted that QBWF has short-term goal which is qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while its long-term objective is to win gold at the 2030 Asian Games (Doha 2030).
He said that the interest in local activity and its activation is an important factor in the Federation’s plans to develop the sports of boxing and wrestling, because it greatly helps the Qatari teams to continue in the competition, especially in light of the strong competitive levels of the Asian teams whether in boxing or wrestling, and sometimes camps are not enough to prepare players for competition.
In terms of wrestling, the Federation contained the sport into the school Olympic programme, which achieved great success and produced some talents that the Federation is working on developing and rehabilitating through special camps and programmes.
In terms of boxing, the Federation organised courses for trainers and programmes for the development of clubs, academies and youth centres, and launched a tournament to classify boxers, as well as some local tournaments that contribute to producing and making champions, including Katara Open Championship, Qatar Tour, and Qatar Championship scheduled for next December, he added.
The President of QBWF said that the Federation awaits many participations during the coming period, most notably the Arab Games in Algeria (from July 5 to 15), which will see the first Qatari female participation in boxing by Dana al-Jabr, while the men’s team will include Abdul-Hadi al-Marri and Saeed al-Samikh.
Sheikh Fahad believes that the Arab Games will serve as an important station for the psychological and physical readiness of the boxers, in preparation for the upcoming Asian Games between Sept 23 and Oct 8, which is the first opportunity for Qatari boxers and wrestlers to win qualifying cards for the upcoming summer Olympics (Paris 2024).
On the possibility of seeing Qatari boxers and wrestlers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sheikh Fahad is targeting an honourable participation in order to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, and considered this qualification as part of the short-term plan of the Federation which will seek as much as possible to qualify the boxers and wrestlers physically and mentally, through the Arab Games and the Asian Games, especially since Asia includes the strongest teams in the world in this field, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. However, he stressed that the most important and long-term goal of the Federation is to achieve medals at Doha 2030 Asian Games.