Doha, March 19 (QNA) – In the presence of HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) unveiled its 2023-2030 strategy during a ceremony held at Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel.

The strategy aims to achieve three main objectives: ensuring sports excellence, promoting Olympic culture, and achieving comprehensive sports development.

HE QOC’s First Vice-President Mohamed Yousef Al Mana, HE QOC’s Second Vice-President Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, HE QOC’s Secretary General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, and a number of heads of clubs, federations, and sports committees in the State of Qatar attended the ceremony.

To achieve these objectives, the QOC is keen to continue promoting the Olympic culture by encouraging all segments of society to participate in sporting events, and adopt healthy lifestyles, extending to include building and developing elite teams of Qatari male and female players to ensure excellence in all sports, including training, management, and other technical aspects.

Through hosting major sports tournaments, the QOC also seeks to promote sports tourism, support the national economy, and invest in the sporting legacy left by the major tournaments hosted in Qatar recently.

At the top of QOC’s priorities is the preparations of national teams, especially at the age groups level. This strategy aims to build a strategic framework and develop systematic implementation plans to develop the performance of athletes, provide for their needs, and take care of their educational, professional, and health path, in addition to measuring, monitoring, and evaluating their performance to ensure the achievement of interim and main goals.

QOC pays great attention to the development of women’s sports in the State of Qatar. It ensures equal opportunities for both genders to practice sports and participate in major tournaments.

Over the past years, these efforts have resulted in raise in Qatari women’s participation and performance in various sports which ensured their participation in the last three editions of the Olympic Games in London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Tokyo 2020.

Since its establishment on March 14, 1979, the QOC has played a major role in spreading sports awareness in the country, sponsoring and developing the Olympic culture in accordance with the Olympic Charter, and supporting and developing sports performance, which contributed to the great boom in Qatari sports during the past 44 years and many unprecedented achievements at various levels.

The latest achievements were Qatari athletics star Mutaz Barshim winning the gold medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first player to win the gold in High Jump on three consecutive occasions throughout history, and the Qatari weightlifter Fares Ibrahim winning won two medals, a gold, and a silver, in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships.

Additionally, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 recorded the best Qatari participation in history, as they managed to achieve three medals. Two gold medals in athletics and weightlifting, and a bronze medal in the beach volleyball competition.

Qatari successes in the sports sector were not limited to winning medals only, Qatari sports figures held high positions in various international institutions.

HE President of QOC Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani was elected as the First Vice President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), during the 26th General Assembly of the Association in October 2022.

In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has selected HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, HE Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF) Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani and HE QOC’s Secretary General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain as members of several affiliated committees.

HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani was appointed as a member at the IOC’s Olympism 365, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani as a member at the IOC’s Olympic Education Commission and Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain as a member at the IOC’s Olympic Program Commission.

The QOC hosted a camp for the refugee Olympic team that participated in Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 from July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021.

The QOC also hosted a number of meetings between the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia, and a dialogue meeting between the IOC and the Afghan representatives of the National Olympic Committee and the General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports.

In recognition of its recent successes, the QOC won National Olympic Committees’ (NOC) Breakthrough Award by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on the sidelines of the ANOC General Assembly in Greece in 2021.

These achievements come within the framework of QOC’s prominent role in promoting various sports and hosting many major sporting events.

During the ceremony, QOC honored the graduates of the training courses and programs that the committee supervised in organizing in 2022, and a group of distinguished and retired employees, based on its belief in the importance and appreciation of the administrative staff. (QNA)