Dubai: The UAE football and equestrian teams will be among the athletes hopeful of returning with medals as the country’s 81-member squad prepares to leave for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, which start on September 19.

The UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) on Thursday named the contingent with representation in 13 sports.

The footballers and equestrian riders returned with silver medals from the Guangzhou Asiad four years ago. The UAE team are also hopeful of medals in track and field, bowling, judo and shooting.

The football squad is the largest as it consists of 20 players and 10 officials and support staff, followed by the handball team with 16 players.

There will also be nine shooters and an experienced squad of six in the bowling team.

“The UAE is today well known all over the world as the best sporting destination in this region. While we have to be proud of this fact, we also need to ensure we can bring glory to our country on the actual sports field, and this is a huge opportunity for our athletes to prove themselves,” Obaid Salem Al Shamsi, Director of Finance of the UAE NOC and Vice President of the UAE Football Association (UAE FA), told Gulf News after announcing the squads at Park Hyatt Dubai.

“Much is expected of our football team because they have been preparing for these Asian Games for the past few months. Like last time, we expect our youngsters to go all the way to the final, but return with the gold medal this time.”

The UAE football team was the surprise package in Guangzhou after beating North Korea and South Korea in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, to set up a final meeting against Japan, which they lost 1-0.

This time, the UAE has been put in Group G and will open their campaign against India on September 15 and then take on Jordan on September 18.

The equestrian squad consists of five members, led by double silver medallist Shaikha Latifa Al Maktoum. The other four members are Abdullah Al Marri, Mohammad Al Owais, Muftah Al Daheri and Abdullah Al Marri.

The individual and team competitions in the equestrian will be held at the Dream Park Equestrian Centre on September 28 and 30.

Besides Shaikha Latifa, the other women on the UAE team are track field athletes Alia Mohammad Saeed and Betlhem Desalegn and sailor Salama Al Mansouri.

The UAE contingent will be a total of 154-strong, including officials, coaching staff and media.