Astana, Kazakhstan, September 3, 2025: Raising awareness of the financial support available from the IOC and the OCA to athletes in Asia is one of the main targets of Ding Ning, Chair of the OCA Athletes Committee since June, 2024.
Ding, a three-time Chinese Olympian in table tennis, has more than a 100 percent success rate. Last year, Athletes Committees from only four National Olympic Committees in Asia, applied for funding. This year, that number has risen to 10 - so far.
“We really hope to raise awareness among more athletes about the support available through the Athletes Centred Project Fund. Our committee is working hard to secure these benefits and rights for everyone,” Ding noted.
Ding, Co-Chair of the OCA Athletes Committee Shiva Keshavan, and 13 other committee members will be taking the message to all 45 Asian NOCs. It’s all new ground for them.
“Our team is quite young, as most of us are serving in this organisation for the first time. We had our first offline meeting in Harbin this year (during the Asian Winter Games in February), and we discussed our responsibilities, the scope of our authority, and the welfare of Asian athletes,” Ding explained.
“We encourage athletes to reach out to us whenever they need assistance — whether it's about training, competitions, or challenges during their transition after retirement. We are here to help.
The Chinese table tennis legend, a three-time Olympic gold medallist as well as three-time World Champion, says the goal of the OCA Athletes Committee is quite straightforward.
“Our goal is quite simple: to provide direct support to athletes in both their training and daily lives. For example, the Forum covers topics such as anti-doping, safeguarding, and PMC (Prevention of Competition Manipulation), which are extremely important for young athletes.
“The agenda of this Forum clearly reflects our priorities in these areas. We hope that all attending NOCs and athletes' committee members will learn about and recognise our work. This is essential for athletes across Asia,” Ding pointed out.
She pledged to work closely with the IOC Athletes Commission and the ANOC Athletes Commission – Chairs Emma Terho and Gaby Diana, respectively are both attending the OCA/OS Athletes Forum – in the future.
“We believe this is a great opportunity. They will be sharing insights, and we — the OCA Athletes Committee and its members — will communicate and exchange ideas with them,” Ding said.
She added: “Although many organisations are engaged in athlete development, each has its own focus. For the OCA Athletes Committee, our goals are very much aligned — to help more athletes. We will continue to coordinate and carry out this work together.”
