Dahlan Al Hamad To QNA: Qatar's Wise Leadership Drives All Our Administrative And Sporting Success Globally, Continentally​​​​​​​

Bangkok, July 12 (QNA) - HE President of the Asian Athletics Association Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad affirmed that his winning by acclamation for a third term at the top of the administrative hierarchy of athletics in the Asian continent is due to the unlimited support of the wise leadership in Qatar. In special remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Hamad said that the trust placed in him to be president of the federation would not have been achieved without the great support given by the State of Qatar to all of its people to assume sports work in international, continental and regional positions. He pointed out that the State of Qatar has established a correct approach to the development of sports by working according to the latest methods that enhance the value of sport, taking care of it at all levels, and organizing tournaments and various events due to the importance that sport represents in human life. As a result of that approach, the people of Qatar obtain various positions in all federations, especially since the good reputation of the country promotes the chances of its cadres to assume continental and international positions. He added that the world appreciates Qatar's great interest in sports, and praises any sporting thought from Qatar or Qatari cadres, which had a great impact on the success of many Qataris in global, continental, and regional positions. He pointed out what Asia was suffering at the level of athletics before 2000, where the limited championships, participation rates in them, and surrender to the lack of capabilities to qualify coaches and athletes, in addition to many problems because of which many sports talents that disappeared, who could have had a great chance if they found the needed attention. He said that Asia has many talents, especially as it is the largest continent in the world in terms of human resources, which mandates the necessary attention to it for the world to achieve success, indicating that because of that, he had to accept the challenge and start working for the best for the continent of Asia. Al Hamad considered that the period he spent as president of the federation was to establish and set the appropriate approach for Asia to move forward and on the right path, stressing that Asia always deserves the best, so he needed to complete the work he started by establishing the future stage, which is now being achieved through The high percentage of talents, the escalation of levels in field and track games, and the emergence of many Asian champions at the global and Olympic levels in all categories and ages. HE President of the Asian Athletics Association Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad told QNA that strict adherence to standards is the right development path and that creating future champions requires patience, perseverance, and commitment to implementing a specific program until success is achieved and moving to the next program to ensure continuity in success, which is something that won't happen unless with a clear approach, which he worked on in the last period. He attributed the distinction of Asia in the past period to the diversity of talents and champions as Asia is always keen to develop itself. Al Hamad also launched a program implemented by the various federations with the need for continuous training and keeping abreast of the various developments in the programs and curricula issued by the international federation, noting the great work done by the members of the federation’s board of directors and different committees. 

President of AAA stated that when he announced before ten years ago that Asia is a "sleeping giant", he meant what he said, and it was imperative to adhere to the moral duty in sports and fulfil the promise he made to work for Asia in quest for achieving this intended objective which is success. Al Hamad affirmed that IAAF has been betting, since the era of the Senegalese Lamine Diack, concerning the challenging operation in Asia due to a multitude of cultures in the continent and its wide space which make communication more challenging, in addition to the big differences in levels among some Asian associations and others, pointing out that by virtue of working under one program in which all are equal and levels are elevated by required qualities, many champions emerged at the global and Olympic levels in the past. A program dedicated to exploring talents in Asia has been launched in collaboration with Social Policy & Development Thammasat University in Thailand, he said, pointing out that AAA has an agreement with the university to achieve high levels of success in exploring talents where many associations had capitalized on them in the past. He outlined that the program launched in this aspect is related to holding various contests at the local level to upgrade athletes' capacities and discover the talented ones to develop their skills and drive them to make success in the future, indicating that stemming from this point he launched the major appeal to the associations on the importance of constantly organizing the activity at school and club levels in all Asian countries to be implemented with the submission of periodical reports He said a champion can hail from a village as there are great athletes who hailed from a very far villages and had no relationship with cities. Al Hamad pointed out that the idea of the criticality of proceeding with work has motivated him to run for a third term in the presidency of AAA confirming that while he is committed to optimally accomplishing the work he started, he has been keen to make his upcoming stint a major shift for Asia, especially after championships there have organized. Asia faced an enormous challenge in the past due to COVID-19 pandemic, therefore it was imperative for him in AAA to continue the program's operation remotely with full adherence to various protocols, Al Hamad pointed out, adding that as a result of this adherence the contest will be very powerful in the 25th edition of 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, specially that athletes are coming to compete after restrictions have been lifted, noting that the championship will be more challenging among the participating champions. He added that all athletes aspire to achieve success and qualify for the upcoming world championship in Hungary making the current edition of Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand more powerful among the participating champions as they mark the 50th anniversary of AAA. Commenting on Qatar’s reigning Olympic and world high jump champion Mutaz Barshim who was named the '2023 Best Asian Male Athlete' at the 50th anniversary, Al Hamad stressed that Barshim offered a real image of a distinguished performance and full commitment making Asia boasts of him as a beacon of high jump champion and a model for many people, noting that he deserves to be the best at the global and Asian levels since he is a model of perseverance, patience and an honor for the entire Asia. In his conversation with QNA, Al Hamad emphasized that Asia enters a new era where all champions will have their word in all Olympic championships, world, and continental championships, pointing out that his program for the third term focuses on refining talents, qualifying trainers and coaches, upgrading levels and capabilities, in addition to taking care of female athletes to be able to achieve success for Asia and their countries. (QNA)