Senegal’s Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), congratulated HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad on his election as president of the Asian Athletics Association. Diack said Major General Dahlan had proven in practice the success of the Qatari sporting figure, describing him as a man who loves athletics and manages it skilfully with a long-term vision. He noted that Dahlan had taken over the presidency of the Asian federation just two years after defeating former president Suresh Kalmadi in elections, and had achieved major development across various programmes to advance the sport of athletics on the continent with the greatest resources of any continent, accomplishing in a very short time what his predecessor had not achieved in 13 years, making his re-election for a new term only natural. Diack said Major General Dahlan was a Qatari figure, and that Qatar was known for excelling in sporting work and planning well for the future, meaning success was guaranteed for those who worked with a scientific vision, and also guaranteed for those who did great work deserving of success. Diack added: “Al Hamad succeeded because he proved in practice that he is the best man for the continent, and I always say Asia deserves the best – and the best has come to it in the form of the Qatari, Dahlan Al Hamad.”
