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)