The Qatar volleyball team, aiming nothing short of the gold medal in the upcoming Asian Games, has been undergoing intensive training under new Argentinian coach Juan Manuel Cichello.
With the team already in the camp in Doha since June 15, it is now time to test the preparations against visiting Cameroon.
The African team, which has qualified for the World Championships, to be hosted by Poland from August 30, has already arrived in the capital. On Monday, Cameroon, under German coach Peter Nonnenbroich, and Qatar used two courts at the QVA hall and two friendly matches to assess almost all their players.
While Qatar have 21 players in the camp, Cameroon have selected 20. Both the coaches may be satisfied with the build up so far but they know their teams have a long way to go.
Over the weekend, Qatar have planned two official friendly matches against the visitors at the QVA hall at 9.30 pm and these two matches on Friday and Saturday are expected to be the real test for the two sides.
Qatar have also drawn an extensive plan for their team before the Asian Games begin in Incheon, South Korea from September 19.
After the two games against Cameroon, Qatar will continue to train at home. Then the training camp will shift to Italy and the Qatari players will be involved in a series of matches and training sessions over August 3 to 21.
The Qatar Volleyball Association has decided to give some match-time to the players by arranging a four-nation international tournament in Doha. It will be held from August 23 to 28 and the other three participating teams are Algeria, Tunisia and Venezuela.
Kuwait will then visit Qatar and play matches over their three-day stay from September 7. This will be followed by a camp in South Korea by the Qatari players. The team will stay there until the Asian Games begin on September 19.
Qatar have pinned high hopes on their volleyball team for the Asian Games success. With their Al Rayyan Club winning the FIVB World Club Men’s Championship in Belo Horizonte, Brazil after finishing runners-up in the Asian Championship for two years in a row, a gold medal in South Korea would certainly be another feather in their cap.