Qatar will field a 28-member shooting and archery team at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with the contingent looking to maintain the country’s strong tradition of success at major continental and international competitions.
The squad features experienced shooters including Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah, Rashid Saleh al-Athba, Mohammed Ahmed al-Rumaihi, Reem al-Sharshani, Hajar Ghulam, Sarah Ghulam, Ray Basil, Kholoud al-Khalaf, Maitha al-Binali, Saeed Abu-Sharib, Angelo Scalzone and Almaha Al-Ali.
Qatar won three shooting medals at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games. Al-Attiyah, Masoud Saleh al-Athba and Rashid al-Athba took silver in the men’s skeet team event, while al-Attiyah added an individual bronze. Al-Athba and al-Sharshani also won bronze in mixed skeet. al-Rumaihi finished fourth in trap.
The Hangzhou haul continued a strong Asian Games record. Qatar won gold and bronze in 2002, one silver and three bronze medals at Doha 2006, one gold, one silver and two bronze at Guangzhou 2010, two gold and one bronze at Incheon 2014, and a bronze at Jakarta 2018.
Al-Attiyah has also been the standout figure on the Olympic stage. Qatar has competed in shooting at every Olympics since Atlanta 1996, with al-Attiyah winning skeet bronze at London 2012. Al-Rumaihi competed at Tokyo 2020, while Saeed Abusharib and Rashid al-Athba represented Qatar at Paris 2024.
The team arrives in Japan with strong recent form. At the Doha 2026 Gulf Games, Qatari shooters won 26 medals, including 12 gold, six silver and eight bronze.
Their latest international success came at the ISSF World Cup in China, where al-Athba won skeet gold and Scalzone took trap silver. It marked the first time Qatar had won individual gold and silver at an ISSF World Cup.
Jassim Shaheen al-Sulaiti, Secretary General of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation, said the team is targeting medals after an extensive preparation programme.
“The national team is entering the Nagoya Asian Games with the ambition to continue its winning streak from recent Gulf, continental, and international competitions,” al-Sulaiti said.
He said the 28 shooters will compete in skeet, trap, pistol and rifle, in addition to archery, with the aim of producing strong performances and competing for medals. Al-Sulaiti added that preparations included tournaments and training camps in eight European and Asian countries, while the World Cup results in China underlined the progress being made by Qatari shooting. The Aichi-Nagoya Games run from September 19 to October 4. Qatar’s 243-strong delegation is competing in 26 sports and 32 disciplines.
