(ATR) Chinese IOC member Zaiqing Yu continues to gain more influence in Olympic circles following his nomination as an ANOC vice president.
After his election as an IOC vice president in February, the 62-year-old ran unopposed for the seat on the ANOC Executive Council at the body’s Extraordinary General Assembly in Kuwait on Wednesday.
His appointment will be ratified at the ANOC general assembly in Bangkok in November. He will serve a four-year mandate.
"Thank you for nominating me for vice president of ANOC, and I am going to spend more time and energy working for the OCA and ANOC," he was quoted on the Olympic Council of Asia website.
"I will try my best to satisfy the needs and expectations of the NOCs, and I will do my best for the athletes without political, commercial, or religious influence. I will never let you down."
ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said Yu’s appointment would add value to the ANOC Executive Council.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Sheikh Ahmad was given the authority to close the file on Hanoi’s withdrawal to host the 2019 Asian Games after consultations with marketing and legal experts.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ahmad welcomed delegates from over 100 national Olympic committees from Asia, Africa, and Oceania to the Sport of Arbitration Forum in Kuwait. He said the turnout showed the respect and trust NOCs had in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"There is a very big potential for the NOCs attending this forum because from here you can go back and follow up all the matters," he was quoted by the OCA.
"There has been a lot of questions from the floor, and this means there is a lot of progress."
Sheikh Ahmad has made a proposal to IOC president Thomas Bach for his Olympic Agenda 2020 mission to amend the Olympic Charter requiring all NOCs and international federations to recognise CAS. He wants CAS to rule all disputes within the sports movement and avoid any other influence.
At this year’s Asian Games in Incheon, CAS will provide an ad-hoc division to resolve any disputes that may arise during the event. It will be the first continental games to use this service. "I hope this will be a step for other continents to follow. We will work hard to achieve our goals," he concluded.
Written by Mark Bisson
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