Bob Hasan retains his grip on AAAA

Bob Hasan retains his grip on AAAA

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian timber tycoon Mohammad "Bob" Hasan
found no aspirants to the crown yesterday and retained his
presidency of the Asia Amateur Athletic Association congress,
vowing to raise sporting standards in the continent.

Hasan received the full support of 39 country-member
delegations, including the lone contender Eisha Al-Dashti of
Kuwait, who withdrew from the election.

Al-Dashti, a council member of the world athletic body IAAF
and Hasan's Senior Vice President, opted to withdraw his bid just
before the election started, paving the incumbent president's
path to a second four-year term.

"I want to keep the unity and avoid a split in our
organization. We are not running a political organization," Al-
Dashti said.

"Bob Hasan and I are friends. I'm not going to have a fight
with fellow Asians," he added.

Hasan agreed with his Kuwaiti colleague, saying that unity is
the most important thing to help Asian athletics progress.

The congress also voted to give Al-Dashti's top job in AAAA to
Prince Khalid bin Thani Al-Thani of Qatar. But the Kuwaiti sheik
remains on the AAAA's new leadership board as the ex-officio
executive due to his membership in IAAF.

The congress also decided to expand AAAA's council members
from six to eight to accommodate the former Soviet Union
countries.

Hasan said after the election that AAAA was thinking about
giving incentives to athletes in the coming years. "This is our
program and it has to be completed during my new tenure," Hasan
said.

He said that such a policy would prevent big names from
skipping any events sanctioned by AAAA. "We've learned a lot from
what happened in the All African Games, where many star-studded
athletes opted to race for prize money in Europe instead of
representing their respective countries in the continental
event," he said.

Hasan made it clear that AAAA will not start giving incentives
before settling marketing and sponsorship matters. "No company is
willing to provide money for under-par athletes," he said.

He guaranteed that incentives are not against the principle
behind amateur athletics if they are given through athletic
federations. "Let the federations manage the money for the
athletes," he said.

Along with the incentive policy, AAAA plans to follow in the
footsteps of its American and European counterparts in organizing
Grand Prix meetings. (amd)