Doha: President of the Asian Padel Federation (APF) and Secretary General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, Padel, and Badminton Federation Tariq Zainal has praised the Olympic Council of Asia's (OCA) decision to officially recognize the Asian Padel Federation and include padel in the 2026 Asian Games.

According to Qatar News Agency, Zainal described the OCA's recognition as a significant milestone for padel in Asia. He emphasized that the inclusion of this sport in the 2026 Asian Games will provide players with an exceptional platform to present their talents and compete at the highest levels, reflecting the sport's development and growing popularity.

He considered this step a new chapter in the development of the sport in Asia, stressing the APF's commitment to collaborating with the International Padel Federation to further develop participation pathways for men, women, and juniors, and to establish padel as one of the leading and most advanced sports in the continent.

Qatar gives considerable attention to padel and works to promote it in the Middle East. Doha recently hosted the Gulf and Asian championships with great success at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, in addition to hosting the first leg of the Premier Padel World Tour annually.

The International Padel Federation announced that the OCA has adopted padel as an official sport for the upcoming Asian Games, a step towards international recognition from the International Olympic Committee and a prelude to including padel in the 2032 Olympic Games in Australia.