Phnom Penh, Cambodia, October 4, 2022: The Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Raja Randhir Singh, welcomed 400 delegates to the 41st OCA General Assembly at the Sokha Hotel on Tuesday.
Raja Randhir said it was a “great pleasure” to see large numbers of National Olympic Committee delegates and other Olympic stakeholders at the General Assembly after two years of the pandemic.
He also thanked the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Hun Sen, the Royal Cambodian Government and the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia for their hosting of this historic meeting.
“Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, His Excellency Hun Sen, Cambodia is preparing to host the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games in 2023 as well as the Asian Youth Games in 2029,” said Raja Randhir. “You can rely on the support and cooperation of the OCA and all our National Olympic Committees to make these games a big success.”
The OCA Acting President pointed out the recent one-year countdown to the postponed Hangzhou Asian Games from September 23 to October 8, 2023 and said: “We are looking forward to the excitement and unity that the Asian Games creates in Asia and around the world.”
Raja Randhir said the Asian sports movement had emerged stronger from the pandemic and would continue to put athletes first in all preparations for multi-sport games, particularly the Asian Games. He also congratulated the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and the Chinese Olympic Committee for their continuous efforts throughout the years of the pandemic and said the one-year delay in the 19th Asian Games had served to increase the awareness of the event as the 54 competition venues were now completed and open to the public to participate in various sports activities.
He pledged that the OCA would continue to work side by side with the IOC and the Association of National Olympic Committees for the good of the Olympic sports movement around the world.
The opening ceremony of the 41st OCA General Assembly also included a minute’s silence for Asian sports personalities who had passed away, and also for the 175 victims of the football stadium tragedy in Indonesia last Saturday, together with the Indonesian sports fraternity.
