The President of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad affirmed that Asian athletics will get stronger as a comprehensive strategy is developed to support the national federations and launch them in a new way and in innovative ways that serve the interest of all athletics members.
This came as he delivered a speech during a seminar titled ‘Athletics in the eyes of the Media’ in Bangkok held via video conference, in the presence of President of the Olympic Council of Asia Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahad al-Sabah, President of the International Athletics Federation Sebastian Coe, and the presidents and the secretaries of Asian federations, in addition to more than 200 journalists from various countries of the Asian continent.
Al-Hamad said that one of the AAA’s main missions today is to train and develop more Asian athletes to be champions on the global scene. Some unions have succeeded in doing so. “As Asia has become a preferred sports centre for organising global sporting events, we have the privilege of cooperating with these organisers to develop our Asian athletes,” he said.
Al-Hamad pledged to do his utmost to promote and ensure the advancement of Asian athletics in the continent, adding that the AAA plays an essential role in the world of athletics. “Asia has a population of more than 4bn people, so it is our primary responsibility and vision to promote the development of athletics in the continent,” the AAA president said.
He referred to what the Covid-19 pandemic had caused during the past months, which led to the cancellation or postponement of many major events for the sake of the safety of the sport family.
The time was used to carefully study the situation with our medical team and others to find a constructive solution, he said, adding that one of the best solutions during this crisis was to initiate relevant training courses. “Therefore, we were able to conduct many seminars and online meetings to achieve our development plan... and we must agree that the epidemic has affected our way of life, but looking at the brighter side, it has also created opportunities in many ways.”
Participants in the seminar addressed a number of ideas on how to constructively identify various resources to make a real difference in co-ordinating sport through the media.