Over 500 students expected for Asian Games promotional event
Over 500 students are expected to take part in the ‘Fun Run’, a promotional event for the Jakarta Asian Games, that will be organised by the Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) in cooperation with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The event was unveiled at a press conference held on Saturday, at the OOC.
OOC Secretary-general Taha al Kishry expressed his happiness at the unveiling of the event.
“The Sultanate has been selected among 33 countries to organise the 18th Asian Games promotional event under the theme ‘Fun Run’ which will begin on Sunday. The race will take place from 4 pm to 6 pm and its route will be along the Al Bahri Road to finish at the Royal Opera House. Shaikh Saad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs, will patronise the closing ceremony of this event,” Taha al Kishry, Secretary-general of OCO, said.
“More than 500 students will participate in today’s event representing different schools in Muscat, charity associations and Oman Paralympic Committee. The first 30 runners will be awarded by gold medals from Olympic Council of Asia (OCA),” Taha al Kishry added.
“Oman will participate in the 18th Asian Games by a delegation presided over by Shaikh Khalid al Zubair, Oman Olympic Committee Chairman, and consists of 120 athletes and administrative staff in ten different sports,” the secretary-general added.
“Thanks to the Sultanate and OOC to organise the promotional event ‘Fun run’. The 18th Asian Games is the second largest event in the world in terms of number of sports approved,” Hussain al Musallam, Director-general of OCA, said.
“This event is held once in every four years. The first event was started in India in 1951,” directorgeneral of OCA added.
The race is intended to promote the 18th Asian Games scheduled to be held in the two cities of Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from August 18 to September 2, 2018.
The Asian Games is considered to be the biggest sports event in Asia and a multi-sport gathering of sportspersons from around the world.
Through the ‘Fun Run’ event, Oman Olympic Committee seeks to activate the social sports programme, instil the culture of sports exercise as a lifestyle within the society, propagate the Olympic ideals and strengthen the value of fun and friendship towards a proper healthy life.
The press conference was attended by Taha al Kishry, Secretary-general of OOC, Hussain al Musallam, Director-general of OCA, Shahrayar Nouwair from the organising committee of OCA, representatives from the OCA and media.