QVA President Ali Ghanem Al Kuwari, QVA General-Secretary Yousef Kano, QVA’s Head of Referee Ibrahim Al Namaa, and QVA Board Member Mohammed Salem Al Kuwari cut a cake to celebrate Qatar’s historic feat of qualifying for the FIVB Men’s World Championship
Doha: Qatar coach Camilo Soto is hoping to give his side best possible preparation for the next year’s FIVB Men’s World Championship Russia 2022 as he eyes top performance from his ranks in the quadrennial tournament.
Qatar made history after qualifying for the World Championship earlier this month following their impressive performance at the Asian Volleyball Championships in Japan, where they finished fifth. The results helped Al Annabi to climb to 20th in the world rankings, paving the way for the team in the global event for the first time.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of reception given by the Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) to honour the national team for their historic feat of qualifying for Russia 2022, Soto praised his players for consistently improving their performance.
“When I joined Qatar team, they were No.38 in the world rankings and now we are 20 which is a result of consistent hardwork by the team,” the Argentinean told reporters.
“My players with their hardwork and by respecting the training schedule make my job easy. They want to rise further in the global rankings, which is very important,” he added.
Soto also hailed recent strides by his team including a good finish in Japan and a rise in the FIVB world rankings.
“The feeling is amazing. Those are remarkable achievements which show the team is headed in the right direction. Attaining 20th spot in the world rankings and qualifying for the World
Championship is huge for the team and surely, there will be more progress for team Qatar,” he added.
The coach added he is eyeing to give best possible preparations to the team for Russia 2022, which will take place from August 26 to September 11 next year.
“We have a GCC event in January which is our first target now. I would like to give my team extensive preparations by playing more tournaments and facing top sides before the World Championship, which will involve best sides. We will have to raise our standards and prepare accordingly and we are planning for that,” he added.
“The objective in the World Championship would be to give a strong performance.”
Beating top sides possible, says Qatar captain
Meanwhile, Qatar captain Ibrahim Ibrahim said his team missed a medal in Asian Championship but added his team’s performance was still impressive.
“Our performance in Japan helped us to qualify for the World Championship, which is fantastic as we improved in the rankings,” Ibrahim told reporters.
“It was really a good tournament for us but defeat to China in the quarter-final cost us the medal,” he added.
The Qatar captain said the main task for the national team is the World Championship.
“It’s not something easy. But I believe like my team’s got the level because it’s volleyball. At the end of the day, it’s volleyball,” he said.
When asked can Qatar can surprise world’s best side at Russia 2022? Ibrahim replied: “I don’t say no. They [opponents] must be careful also because we play our game. Our game is like the team is together since now more than five, six years. We know each other.”
