Newly elected OCA president expects Hangzhou to deliver ‘fantastic’ Asian Games
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The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre, one of the venues for the Asian Games beginning on Sept 23, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
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BANGKOK – Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Sabah, the newly elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), expressed his conviction on Saturday that Hangzhou is prepared and will deliver a “fantastic” Asian Games.
The 58-year-old conveyed these thoughts after the 42nd OCA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I would be honoured to attend the Games. I am confident that they are ready, and I am certain it will be a fantastic event,” he noted, pointing out China’s success in hosting previous major sports events.
The third member of his family to lead the OCA, Sheikh Talal received 24 of the 44 votes cast. The other candidate, the OCA director-general and president of World Aquatics Husain Al-Musallam, who is also from Kuwait, received 20 votes.
Sheikh Talal is the son of the first OCA president Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was president from 1982 to 1990, and the younger brother of the previous OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the organisation from 1991 to 2021.
He joined the OCA in 2007 and served as chair of the OCA rules committee and a member of the OCA executive board.
Sheikh Talal’s motto was “One Asia, One Family” and promised good governance, financial sustainability, development plan for sports and activities, education programmes and high-quality Asian Games.
During the OCA general assembly, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (Hagoc) delivered a report on the Games preparations.
“I have the honour and pleasure of reporting that the preparations for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou are progressing smoothly,” announced Song Luzeng, OCA vice-president representing the Hagoc.
“With fewer than 80 days to go, we are confident that the Hagoc will stage an excellent and memorable edition of the Asian Games,” he added.
The Hangzhou Asian Games, the 19th edition, are slated to run from Sept 23 to Oct 8.
Also at the congress, Harbin, capital of north-east China’s Heilongjiang province, was chosen to host the 2025 Asian Winter Games – the ninth edition.
It was the only candidate city, and its bid was approved by the OCA with a round of applause from the assembly.
During the presentation by the Harbin bid committee to the OCA, Yu Zaiqing, vice-president of the Chinese Olympic Committee and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, said Harbin boasts stable economic growth, solid winter sports tradition and excellent winter sports facilities.
“We are fully convinced that Harbin is capable of delivering an outstanding and successful edition of the Asian Winter Games, so as to contribute to the development of winter sport and the Olympic movement in China and the whole Asia, and to promote solidarity, friendship, and peace,” he said.
It will be the second time Harbin hosts the Asian Winter Games – the first was in 1996 – and the third time the regional games are held in a Chinese city, the other being in Changchun, north-east China’s Jilin province, in 2007. Harbin’s successful bid also came after Beijing successfully hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 2022. XINHUA
