Olympic Council of Asia chief secures another term

Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah has secured four more years as President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) after being re-elected for a sixth term at the organisation's general assembly in Tokyo on Thursday.

The 49-year-old Kuwaiti assumed the post in 1991 and has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1992.

In his victory speech, Sheikh Ahmad hailed PyeongChang's successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics after the South Korean city overcame the challenges of Munich in Germany and Annecy in France to secure the hosting rights.

Sheikh Ahmad told AFP "this is Asia, and Asia is always ready to host sports events.

"I would like to congratulate our friends from Korea, from PyeongChang, for winning the bid to host the Olympic Winter Games in 2018. This is another success for our family and will give added value to the Olympic movement."

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, who was attending the general assembly, said he would welcome another "strong bid" for the 2020 Olympics from Tokyo. The Japanese capital, which is still recovering from the effects of a devastating earthquake earlier this year, is expected to confirm its application to host the Games over the coming days.

"We feel absolutely safe (in Japan)," Rogge told reporters when asked if Tokyo, some 220 kilometres from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is ready to host sporting events.

"We are totally assured that international competitions can take place in Japan."

At the OCA's 30th annual general assembly, the 36-sport competition program for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games in South Korea was approved, with softball included under the category of baseball after having been dropped initially. Soft tennis was also included under the tennis banner.

The 2010 Guangzhou Games in China had a 42-sport program.

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