Aichi-Nagoya - Qatar’s men’s national volleyball team begin their Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games campaign with an important match against Hong Kong in their opening Group C encounter.Team Qatar are drawn in Group C alongside India, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Group A features Japan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while Group B comprises Iran, Indonesia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan. Group D includes the Republic of Korea, China, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines.Qatar begin their campaign against Hong Kong before facing Vietnam tomorrow and India the following day.The competition will be staged at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park and Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture. Team Qatar will look to build on their preparations and test themselves against strong continental opposition.Qatar are fully aware of the importance of their opening match, with a winning start potentially having a significant impact on the group standings. The three matches will provide successive tests of the team’s capabilities and ambitions in the competition.Team Qatar held their first training session yesterday in a positive atmosphere, with the players showing plenty of enthusiasm. The technical staff focused on putting the finishing touches to their game plan for Hong Kong while finalising the line-up and player selection.Ali Ghanim Al Kuwari, President of the Qatar Volleyball Association, met with the players and the technical and administrative staff, stressing the importance of the upcoming stage and the need to give their utmost to represent Qatari volleyball in the best possible manner at the Asian Games.For his part, Saeed Juma Al Hitmi, Board Member of the Qatar Volleyball Association, said Team Qatar had reached a good level of readiness and that the players were in strong physical condition and high spirits ahead of their opening match.He added that the team had prepared well over the previous period, completing a training camp and playing two friendly matches in Japan, which helped improve cohesion and readiness. He also noted that the technical staff had studied Hong Kong and analysed their strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the match.Qatar’s 12-player squad comprises Mahdi Samoud, Abdulrahman Bakri, Mubarak Mousa, Abdulla Samir, Pape Maguette, Ahmed Abdulwahab, Renan Ribeiro, Youssef Al Yafei, Mohammed Al Waleed, Naji Mahmoud, Mubarak Al Kuwari and Ahmed Jamal.