Nagoya, Japan, October 3, 2026: The newly elected members of the Olympic Council of Asia Athletes Committee joined the existing committee members on Saturday for an introductory meeting, following the conclusion of the Athletes Committee elections at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the new representatives to meet their fellow committee members, learn more about their roles and responsibilities and discuss the priorities and plans for the coming term.
The committee discussed a range of areas including strengthening athlete engagement across Asia, improving communication with athletes and National Olympic Committees and developing initiatives that respond to the needs and experiences of athletes.
“It is very good to welcome our new members and have everyone together for the first time. We have athletes with different backgrounds and experiences, which will be important as we work to better represent and support athletes across Asia. There is a lot of work ahead, and I look forward to working together as a committee,” said OCA Athletes Committee Chair, Ms. Ding Ning.
The newly elected members are Amir Maimuratov from Kazakhstan, Reem Al Sharshani from Qatar, Naoto Tobe from Japan and Thanyalak Chophibunsin from Thailand.
In addition to the four elected members, the Athletes Committee will also be joined by Rajeshwari Kumari from India who has been nominated by the OCA Executive Board to represent the South Asian region. They now join the existing members of the OCA Athletes Committee, together representing athletes from across the OCA’s regions.
The committee will now begin its programme of activities for the new term 2026-2030, with a focus on strengthening athlete representation and ensuring that the voices of athletes continue to contribute to the development of sport in Asia.
*The result of the elections was announced at a press conference at the Main Media Centre earlier Saturday.
A total of nine candidates were bidding for one of four places on the committee – a female representative for West Asia (2 candidates), a male athlete for Central Asia (3 candidates), a male athlete for East Asia (3 candidates) and a female athlete for Southeast Asia (one candidate).
Athletes attending the 20th Asian Games were able to vote in polling stations on the cruise ship athletes’ village, the temporary villas at Garden Pier or at one of 75 hotels.
A total of 5,215 votes were cast during the election from September 20 to October 2.
