HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad travels to Bahrain today at the invitation of the organising committee of the Arab Championships, due to start in the coming hours with record participation from Arab national teams fielding their strongest ever line-ups, with entry numbers unlike any other Arab championship. Major General Al Hamad had just returned from a tour that took in China and Slovenia, during which a number of activities and agreements took place.
HE Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Asian and Qatar athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, signed a cooperation agreement with the Balkan Athletics Association that will benefit athletics in both the Asian and Balkan federations, covering development and training for Asian administrative and technical staff, and cooperation serving the sport in both the Asian continent and the Balkan countries in every respect. The signing ceremony took place during the European Athletics Association’s general assembly in the Slovenian capital, in the presence of leaders of the sport from around the world.
Mr Dobromir, president of the Balkan Athletics Association, expressed his great happiness at the cooperation with Asia through a clear agreement, saying the agreement was between the Balkans and the world’s richest continent in terms of human resources. He said the agreement would benefit athletics on both sides, the Balkan countries and Asia, noting that Asia has great potential and can develop considerably under the Qatari leadership of Asian athletics, represented by HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad.
Dobromir thanked Dahlan Al Hamad for his great keenness to reach out to every federation in the world to develop athletics on the Asian continent, while Al Hamad affirmed that the agreement would benefit the Asian continent in developing Asian technical and administrative personnel to produce future champions, stating that his project as president of Asian athletics aims to develop the sport across the continent in every field, and reiterating that Asia is “a sleeping giant that must be woken up,” stressing that athletics stands to gain a great deal on the continent.
Unveiling of the Asian Championships logo
Separately, HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association, unveiled the logo of the 15th Asian Athletics Championships for men, to be held in the Chinese city of Wuhan next June, in the presence of Wang Zhihua, deputy mayor of Wuhan, Zhao Shudong, vice-president of the Asian Athletics Association, Zhang Jin, head of the championship’s organising committee, and a number of Chinese sports officials, at a press conference at the Marco hotel in Wuhan, the city that will host the major event. The championship mascot, named “Chubao,” was also unveiled and will serve as the event’s emblem, with all Asian countries expected to take part next June.
Major General Al Hamad had earlier met the mayor of the Chinese capital, Beijing, during the IAAF Council meetings held on the 15th of this month in Beijing, which will also host the World Athletics Championships next August, and Al Hamad praised the Chinese city’s preparations to host the Asian Athletics Championships for men.
The deputy mayor of Wuhan expressed her happiness at her city hosting the major continental event, saying Wuhan would be ready to organise the great event bringing together the people of Asia on the athletics track and field, while Al Hamad predicted that the current edition would be even more outstanding thanks to the Chinese city’s preparations and the interest shown by Chinese officials in the championship.
