HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, secretary general of the Qatar Olympic Committee, praised Major General Dahlan Al Hamad and his major efforts in athletics at the local, continental and global levels. Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman affirmed Qatar’s full support for Mr Dahlan Al Hamad’s candidacy in the IAAF elections to retain his post once again, saying: “Al Hamad is an honourable Qatari face who has contributed a great deal to Qatari athletics as well as Asian athletics, and he has his own contributions to world athletics.”
He said: “Major General Dahlan Al Hamad’s candidacy to retain both his posts is very important so that he can continue the development process he began at the Asian federation and continue his effective contributions at the IAAF, especially since Asian athletics has seen a great deal of development under his presidency.”
HE Sheikh Saud noted that Al Hamad has achieved many accomplishments he has never mentioned or spoken about himself, in the fields of training coaches, technical staff and officials, through his chairmanship of the IAAF’s regional development centre. He added that the achievements of Qatari athletics under Al Hamad’s presidency are numerous, the most recent being the honour of winning the right to host the World Athletics Championships scheduled for 2019.
Qatari successes that must continue
He added that the Qatar Olympic Committee provides support and backing to everyone in order to raise the name of the State of Qatar high at continental and world events, noting that Qatar has achieved many sporting accomplishments, the latest being the resounding success in hosting and organising the Handball World Championship and Qatar’s national team finishing runner-up in that championship for the first time in the history of Qatari handball.
He pointed to the modern sporting facilities and huge capabilities the country currently possesses, which have played an influential role in hosting numerous global sporting events. Among the most prominent sporting events were the 2006 Asian Games, the World Indoor Championships in 2010 and the 2011 Arab Games. Doha also hosts one of the Diamond League athletics stages annually, an event formerly called the Super Grand Prix, which Qatar has hosted every year since 1997.
