DOHA (Qatar): Qatar restart their Group E campaign at the 2021 FIBA Asia qualifiers against Syria at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall today.
Their next match comes against Saudi Arabia at the same venue on Monday.
Qatar, winless since a year now, are placed last in Group E with two points, while Iran (four), Syria and Saudi Arabia (three each) occupy the top spots.
The team lost in the GCC tournament in Kuwait City last November and also lost their opening FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers to Saudi Arabia and Iran in February which led to the ouster of head coach Panos Yiannara.
Serbia’s Miodrag Perisic, who joined the team three weeks ago, exuded confidence.
“I had just 20 days to interact with the players but during this short period, I found that they’re very determined. The boys are
learning fast,” said Perisic.
However, the national team has also injury concerns.
Mohamed Hassan Mohamed, popularly known as Mizo, was injured on both wrists. Emir Mujkic, Qatar’s top scorer in
February, and Mohamed Abdelaziz have also been out of the team for a considerable period of time.
Qatar National Teams’ Director Abdulrahman Al Hitmi also expressed satisfaction on the team’s progress.
“Wins are essential for us to qualify. We’ll need to be at our best against Syria and Saudi Arabia. Despite the difficulties,
we’ve done our best to motivate the players. I feel they’ll make use of the home conditions to emerge on top,” said Al Hitmi.
