A sporty way of life has become a part of Qatari culture. Doha is on the way to become an international capital for sports. As mega international sport events are coming to Qatar soon, euphoria is increasing among expatriate communities in Qatar.
“Sport offers a healthy lifestyle. It has become a way of life. Sport transcends boundaries, beliefs, creeds and costs. There is sport diplomacy. Even recently the term of sport security has also been in vogue at international forums,” said Dr Mohan Thomas, prominent Indian medical practitioner and sport enthusiast.
A longtime resident of Qatar and active community worker, Dr Thomas is vying for the office of president of Indian Sports Centre (ISC) for the term of 2021-2022. ISC is an apex body of the community under the aegis of the Embassy of India. The centre has been formed exclusively for focusing on all aspects relating to the promotion of various sports and games, not only among the Indian community, but also among other expatriate communities. ISC also aims to support Qatar in hosting various national and international sporting events in a sustained manner.
Dr Thomas, an ENT surgeon, recently spoke to Gulf Times about his aims, objectives and what he wants to achieve if elected as the next ISC president. Living in Qatar for over 37 years now, he has remained associated with different Indian community organisations and made significant contributions towards welfare of his compatriots, when in need.
“I am an ENT surgeon and run my own clinic. I am the founder chairman of Birla Public School. I am the founding member of many Indian community organisations including ISC, Indian Cultural Centre and Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC). I am the former president of Indian Community Benevolent Forum and former vice president of IBPC. I am also founder of the Indian Doctors Club that has been arranging medical camps in Qatar for the last 20 years. I have also been involved in different humanitarian and welfare activities during the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown,” explained Dr Thomas.
The medical practitioner has also been associated with different sport activities. “I was a very good football player for my school and college teams. Being an active sportsperson is the secret of my good health. I play football, tennis and squash. Since 2004, I have been associated with different sport activities in Qatar. I was named as football ambassador of the Indian community by president of Qatar Football Association in 2011. I was the chairman of ISC when it was set up four years ago. I have been appointed by the Indian ambassador as the chairman of the common premises committee to set up the Indian Community Centre. It will be a very large facility with many sporting facilities.”
The election will be conducted online on December 26. More than 1,200 ISC members will vote for two contestants. The sport enthusiast has many plans to execute and objectives to achieve if he is elected as the ISC president. “Next two years and the next 10 years are very important for Qatar as far as different international sport events are concerned. Indians are a major community in this country. We also have a major responsibility and commitment towards Qatar. We have to make sure that Doha becomes the international sports capital. Being a longtime resident and associated with sport activities, I think I have a job to do. We have a definite roadmap. We want to concentrate on our young children. A lot of talent is out there. We will work with Aspire Academy and train young players with international coaches. We will also approach Qatar Olympic Committee sharing the talent with different federations and requesting them to adopt the players. There are lots of blue collar workers. We want to provide them a sporty
lifestyle. There are many promising sport talents among them.”
Dr Thomas added: “We have training programmes for kids, youth and women to develop their sport talents. We will support Qatar in all possible manner to have a successful FIFA World Cup 2022. We will fully support and promote ‘Host a Guest’ programme during the World Cup. We also want to support the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in community outreach programmes in India. We will also have collaborations from Doha Bank, LuLu and other major business entities in Qatar for different sport projects.”
A longtime resident of Qatar and active community worker, Dr Thomas is vying for the office of president of Indian Sports Centre (ISC) for the term of 2021-2022. ISC is an apex body of the community under the aegis of the Embassy of India. The centre has been formed exclusively for focusing on all aspects relating to the promotion of various sports and games, not only among the Indian community, but also among other expatriate communities. ISC also aims to support Qatar in hosting various national and international sporting events in a sustained manner.
Dr Thomas, an ENT surgeon, recently spoke to Gulf Times about his aims, objectives and what he wants to achieve if elected as the next ISC president. Living in Qatar for over 37 years now, he has remained associated with different Indian community organisations and made significant contributions towards welfare of his compatriots, when in need.
“I am an ENT surgeon and run my own clinic. I am the founder chairman of Birla Public School. I am the founding member of many Indian community organisations including ISC, Indian Cultural Centre and Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC). I am the former president of Indian Community Benevolent Forum and former vice president of IBPC. I am also founder of the Indian Doctors Club that has been arranging medical camps in Qatar for the last 20 years. I have also been involved in different humanitarian and welfare activities during the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown,” explained Dr Thomas.
The medical practitioner has also been associated with different sport activities. “I was a very good football player for my school and college teams. Being an active sportsperson is the secret of my good health. I play football, tennis and squash. Since 2004, I have been associated with different sport activities in Qatar. I was named as football ambassador of the Indian community by president of Qatar Football Association in 2011. I was the chairman of ISC when it was set up four years ago. I have been appointed by the Indian ambassador as the chairman of the common premises committee to set up the Indian Community Centre. It will be a very large facility with many sporting facilities.”
The election will be conducted online on December 26. More than 1,200 ISC members will vote for two contestants. The sport enthusiast has many plans to execute and objectives to achieve if he is elected as the ISC president. “Next two years and the next 10 years are very important for Qatar as far as different international sport events are concerned. Indians are a major community in this country. We also have a major responsibility and commitment towards Qatar. We have to make sure that Doha becomes the international sports capital. Being a longtime resident and associated with sport activities, I think I have a job to do. We have a definite roadmap. We want to concentrate on our young children. A lot of talent is out there. We will work with Aspire Academy and train young players with international coaches. We will also approach Qatar Olympic Committee sharing the talent with different federations and requesting them to adopt the players. There are lots of blue collar workers. We want to provide them a sporty
lifestyle. There are many promising sport talents among them.”
Dr Thomas added: “We have training programmes for kids, youth and women to develop their sport talents. We will support Qatar in all possible manner to have a successful FIFA World Cup 2022. We will fully support and promote ‘Host a Guest’ programme during the World Cup. We also want to support the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in community outreach programmes in India. We will also have collaborations from Doha Bank, LuLu and other major business entities in Qatar for different sport projects.”
