Major General Dahlan Al Hamad addresses the Olympic Council of Asia delegation, and Ivan Bravo welcomes Asia’s stars
A training camp for a group of 59 rising athletics champions from 31 Asian countries began in Doha yesterday, hosted by Aspire Academy over two weeks.
Ahead of training starting yesterday, Tuesday morning, HE Major General Staff Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, addressed the athletes, coaches and administrators in the presence of an Olympic Council of Asia representative and Ivan Bravo, Aspire Academy’s director general, at the academy’s auditorium.
The speech by the president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations had a magical effect on the young athletes, who also received a warm welcome from Ivan Bravo, who in turn welcomed those present and Asia’s young athletes to Aspire Academy, saying the two-week training camp was a good opportunity for young Asian athletes, as on one hand there would be a chance for part of the sporting family to get acquainted with Asia’s future stars, and on the other hand, he hoped all of them would gain even greater benefit from the training facilities available at Aspire Academy.
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations, said he saw in this group of elite athletes the future stars of Asian athletics, and that this camp would remain etched in the memory of these young men and women, many of whom will represent their countries at various regional and world sporting events, and that in future we look forward to seeing stars from among them winning Olympic medals.
The training camp for Asia’s future stars got under way, with all 59 athletes taking part in training according to the schedule prepared by officials of the Olympic Council of Asia delegation, at Aspire Academy’s athletics hall.
The training included theoretical instruction from the coaches as well as practical sessions, and Asia’s future stars were seen approaching training with unmatched enthusiasm amid great happiness at being in Qatar. Indoor and outdoor training will continue in two sessions, morning and evening, at Aspire Academy over the next two weeks, specifically until 14 September.
The Olympic Council of Asia delegation is accompanied by, and receiving professional, academic and sporting support from, a group of coaches and sports lecturers from Aspire Academy. The academy’s team is providing full support and guidance to the delegation and its officials, and Aspire is expected to provide the delegation, at the end of the camp, with a comprehensive scientific report and complete information on the performance of each of the young athletes at the training camp, as the sports science team monitors the athletes’ fitness and endurance data throughout the camp for the benefit of the athletes themselves and their coaches.
The Olympic Council of Asia delegation includes 59 rising athletics athletes from 31 different Asian countries, including China, Kuwait, Lebanon and Malaysia. The ages of the athletes taking part in the training camp range between 16 and 17, and they are long jump competitors nominated by their countries’ national Olympic committees.
This initiative, sponsored by Aspire Academy, is considered one of the most outstanding and innovative ideas in Asia, bringing together this number of rising athletics athletes and their coaches in a two-week training camp.
