By Sportswriter Zhang Rongfeng

    DOHA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hosting a successful Asian Games in Doha is part of a strategy to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to the city, the Qatar National Olympic Committee (QNOC) said on Monday.

    QNOC secretary-general, H. E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Thani, said the success of Doha 2006 will prove Qatar is capable of organizing a big event on the scale of the Olympic Games.

    "We have already made a strategy to bid for the Olympics, but before you bid you must show that you can host a big sporting event. Qatar has hosted the Asian Games, West Asian Games and three events in the Gulf Cup. So this is not new, it is part of our strategy," H. E. Sheikh Saoud told journalists.

    He said the QNOC received a letter two days ago from the International Olympic Committee outlining the bidding agenda for the 2016 Olympics. The deadline has been extended by two months, so the bids will be presented between January and September 2007.

    The shortlist would be followed by a visit from IOC officials, and the voting would take place in 2009, he said.

    "On the 115 IOC delegates, we hope Qatar will have enough experience to convince them," H.E. Sheikh Saoud said.

    Asked what would happen if the bid failed, H. E. Sheikh Saoud said he was confident that Qatar would succeed, and if not for 2016, then in the future.

    "We will try again until we get it. But we will win it the first time and we have confidence in this," he said. "We still have about two years to go so we can do a lot."