Qatar saddles up for three-discipline bid at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

After months of intensive preparation, Qatar’s national equestrian team is heading to Japan to put its training to the test at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.Qatar will compete in show jumping, dressage and eventing at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which runs from 19 September to 4 October, with 10 horses selected for the campaign, the Qatar Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federation said.The federation named the following riders: Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, Faleh Suwaid Al Ajmi and Bassem Mohammed in show jumping; Jassim Jaham Al Kuwari and Saud Ahmed Al Buainain in dressage; and Mohammed Jaber Al Nuaimi, Abdulaziz Ahmed Al Muhannadi, Mohammed Salem Al Marri and Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi in eventing.The team has undergone an extensive summer training programme focused on technical and physical preparation ahead of the Games.Qatar’s campaign begins 21 September Equestrian competition begins on 21 September with the dressage phase of eventing, followed by cross-country on 22 September and jumping on 23 September.Dressage events will run from 25 to 27 September, while the show jumping team competition takes place on 1 October, followed by the individual rounds on 3 and 4 October.The competitions will be held at Tokyo’s Equestrian Park, a historic venue that previously hosted equestrian events during the 1964 and 2021 Olympic Games.Months of preparation put to the testBadr Al Darwish, President of the Qatar Equestrian Federation and Modern Pentathlon, said the federation is confident the riders can turn their months of preparation into positive results.“We have full confidence in our riders’ abilities, experience and potential to deliver strong performances at this major continental event,” he said, acknowledging the challenge posed by some of Asia’s leading riders.The Games will also offer Qatar valuable competition experience ahead of Doha 2030, when the Asian Games return to the Qatari capital for the first time since 2006.