CDM Seminar highlights key issues for Ashgabat
Electronic sports to be added as demonstration
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 6: The Olympic Council of Asia and Ashgabat 2017 produced a series of key findings and recommendations to close the two-day Chefs de Mission (CDM) Seminar for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games on Thursday.
Following a second morning of presentations from key areas within the organising committee, the seminar concluded in the early afternoon with a group photo of delegates from Asian and Oceania National Olympic Committees.
Speaking on behalf of the organising committee, Chief Operating Officer Mick Wright thanked the delegates for their “attention, contributions
and questions” during the seminar. “We really appreciate the advice and the counsel we have received from the OCA and from the NOCs,” he said.
His list of key findings included the Sports Entry deadlines and information, the individual technical handbooks for the 21 sports, procedure for the equestrian-jumping event, access to
2017 Ashgabat AIMAG CDM seminar group photo
social media and the journey to Ashgabat, in particular the number of flights and connections and the possibility of charter flights to the new airport.
Summing up on behalf of the OCA, Honorary Life Vice-President Wei Jizhong described the seminar as “constructive and fruitful” and highlighted the inter-active thinking between the three main stakeholders: OCA, organising committee and NOCs.
He said the main priority was to bring as many athletes as possible to Ashgabat from the 62 NOCs — 45 from Asia and 17 from Oceania — by way of detailed technical handbooks regarding athlete entries, more convenient flights from around Asia and access to social media, as the likes of Facebook and Whatsapp are blocked in Turkmenistan.
Wei also encouraged the organisers to accommodate the sport traditions of Asia and Oceania during the Games, which will run from September 17-27 with around 3,500 athletes.
“We have to work together to solve our problems with our many experiences,” he concluded.
“The OCA will support the NOCs of Asia and Oceania countries and we will help the organising committee in the preparations. Let us work together to deliver a very successful 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games — Ashgabat 2017.”
The second morning of the CDM Seminar included presentations on transportation, arrival and departure, logisitics, accommodation,
catering, security, protocol, ceremonies, ticketing and broadcast and media services.
*Organisers are expecting to serve 1.3 million meals during the Games, including 600,000 for spectators, 300,000 for the workforce and 200,000 for athletes and officials from the 62 NOCs. The Main Dining Hall in the Athletes’ Village has a capacity of 1,600.
*The athlete experience at the Opening Ceremony on Sept 17 will be a maximum of four hours, from the first NOCs leaving the village at 7:00 pm to the last NOCs returning to the village at 11:00 pm. The parade is due to start at 8:40 pm and last 45 minutes. Athletes can leave the ceremony at any time, once they have marched in, as the village is walking distance from the 45,000-capacity main stadium.
There will be 614,000 tickets available for the 160 sessions in 21 sports. The average price for one sports ticket is 7 Manat (2 USD). Children will be allowed in free.
The Main Media Centre is located next to the Athletes’ Village within the Olympic Complex. Media accreditation will begin on June1 and close on July 16.
Electronic sports will be added as a demonstration sport with three events at Ashgabat 2017. NOCs will receive all the information by the end of April.
The OCA Executive Board meeting will take place on Sept 19 and the General Assembly on Sept 20. They have been delayed due to the IOC Session in Lima, Peru. rivals. Their determination was duly rewarded with a superb victory that gives the Abu Dhabi driver a 33-point lead in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies after three rounds.
A fascinating tussle ensued for supremacy in the motorcycle and quad categories. Honda’s Paulo Gonçalves began the last stage with a lead of 33.8 seconds, but starting order is crucial in this form of crosscountry rallying and Dakar champion Sam Sunderland delivered a stunning ride on his Red Bull KTM 450 Rally to seal the stage win and earn his first Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory.
Starting eighth on the road was an obvious advantage and the Dubai-based rider’s strategy paid off handsomely. Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla bounced back from recent career setbacks to claim second place on his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna – 6min 13.7sec behind the winner - and Austrian Matthias Walkner won the battle with Paulo Gonçalves for third place.
“It feels cool, it’s been a long time coming,” said Sunderland. “This is my home race. I made a good start and it’s been the perfect race for me. It started well but it’s been really hard. I knew that I had to push hard this morning to make up the time quickly and that the first section was important. The team has been great, the bike’s been fantastic and it’s a great way to follow up the win in Dakar.”
Ride to Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed AlBalooshi was the leading Arab finisher in seventh position. “Very happy to finish this rally. It was tough. All the respect to the guys who finish ahead of me. They are super athletes. It is their job. Not being on this bike for a year. I did not expect more than this. My progress was stopped. I could not have done this without my team at Ride to
Al-Musallam claims stunning victory
Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Sports Council and all my sponsors. Without them, this sport is difficult. They play a key role.”
A delighted Al-Qassimi will take many positives from his debut in the Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR. Delays on day four aside, Al-Qassimi has adapted well to cross-country rallying in a short space of time and his victory throws the FIA World Cup wide open. His winning margin was 41min 26sec and he became the first Emirati to win the event since Mohammed Mattar won the two non-championship races way back in 1991 and 1992.
Al-Qassimi said: “I think this is the first win on an FIA World Cup round for an Emirati in 27 years. This event has been in the series for 25 years and this is also a first for an Emirati. I don’t want to be so greedy. I am still learning and for me every day is a learning curve. This is only my fourth or fifth cross-country. I am pushing myself to a good level. The team itself, all of us, had a good effort. We had a lot of problems. We took stock after the drive shaft. That was a bad time. That’s why they call it cross-country. You keep pushing. It is good for myself and for Abu Dhabi. It’s an Abu Dhabi event. It is fantastic for everyone that we won this rally. It’s a big boost winning this rally. We are happy. I am not doing the Cross-Country championship. The reality is that we are leading now. Do we do another event?”
Czech driver Martin Prokop delivered a career-best performance in this discipline of rallying to snatch second place in his Ford F-150. Mohammed Abu Issa has enjoyed a successful transition from racing on a quad to being competitive in a car and the Qatari finished third overall in his Mini All4 Racing.
Khalid Al-Feraihi, Yayha Al-Helai and Mark Powell delivered excellent performances to finish fourth, fifth and sixth overall. “It was a great team effort by everyone at Saluki Motorsport,” said Powell. “The car was tested at the Dubai International Baja and hours of hard work have paid off.”