EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee
EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee
EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee
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o o o o o o o o o<br />
beijing<br />
2008<br />
“we expect to<br />
have a team of<br />
27 athletes<br />
competing in<br />
six different<br />
sports AT<br />
beijing 2008”<br />
has gone into making the Road to Beijing<br />
as smooth as possible can be found in the<br />
massive free-standing calendar which<br />
stands outside Khalil Al Jabber’s offices on<br />
the 20th floor of the <strong>Olympic</strong> Tower in<br />
Doha. This is the time-line writ large, a<br />
clear indication of the tasks to be completed<br />
each day as the countdown to Beijing<br />
continues. Next to it are diagrams of the<br />
accommodation which will be found in<br />
the <strong>Olympic</strong> Village, introducing the<br />
athletes to the realities of <strong>Olympic</strong><br />
life well before they step onto the<br />
‘plane to China. Khalil Al Jabber<br />
is determined that he and his<br />
delegation will be ready and<br />
absolutely nothing is being left to<br />
chance.<br />
Months before the Games, the<br />
Chef de Mission had accompanied<br />
federation chiefs and other officials<br />
on fact finding visits to Beijing in<br />
order to familiarise themselves<br />
with the facilities and conditions<br />
they will face when the team<br />
arrives from its training camp in Hong Kong a few days<br />
before the official opening of what it still generally agreed<br />
to be The Greatest Show On Earth.<br />
The <strong>Qatar</strong> delegation will consist of competitors,<br />
coaches, medical staff and officials, some of whom will<br />
stay in the <strong>Olympic</strong> Village.<br />
“We are expecting to have a team of 27 athletes in six<br />
different sports in Beijing,” explained Khalil Al Jabber.<br />
“We will be represented in track and field, shooting,<br />
fencing, weightlifting, swimming and taekwondo and<br />
while it is difficult to predict the outcome of events we will<br />
certainly be looking for progress in every area,” he said.<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong>’s strength in shooting disciplines has been well<br />
established over the years and with Nasser Saleh Al-Attiya<br />
taking fifth place in the 2000 Sydney Games and fourth in<br />
Athens four years ago, there are strong hopes that further<br />
improvement will result in a medal for <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
Likewise in weightlifting where Jaber Saeed Salem won<br />
the Bronze medal in Athens, there are high hopes, if not<br />
expectations, of an even better placing this time around.<br />
Elsewhere the team will have young competitors taking<br />
place in their very first <strong>Olympic</strong> Games in both the 100m<br />
breast stroke swimming event and in fencing, while in<br />
Taekwando, Abdulqader Hikmat Sarham will be looking<br />
to build on the success enjoyed in wining Gold at the 13th<br />
Asian Games in Doha.<br />
“Every member of the team will give 100 per cent in<br />
their events but we are realistic enough to know that not<br />
all have a realistic medal chance,” Khalil Al Jabber said.<br />
“But in every case we know that each athlete has their<br />
own personal goal. For some it would be a triumph simply<br />
to get into the final of their event.”<br />
“The performance of the team means a lot to <strong>Qatar</strong> and<br />
its people. Over the years we have built a good infrastructure<br />
for sport and made sport and sports participation central<br />
to life in the State. We are now gradually beginning to see<br />
the fruits of the investment that has been made.<br />
“For example, this is the first time we have been<br />
represented in Taekwondo which means that the standard<br />
must be improving thanks to the facilities which are<br />
available. Fencing is another sport which has taken giant<br />
steps as the federation was only established 12 year ago<br />
and now has a representative in the <strong>Olympic</strong> Games.”<br />
Today everybody involved in sport in <strong>Qatar</strong> is focused<br />
on the Games and helping the competitors achieve<br />
maximum performance.<br />
“The Federations and everybody else are being very cooperative.<br />
Everybody shares the same goal,” Khalil Al<br />
Jabber said.<br />
The Beijing <strong>Olympic</strong> Games provide a global showcase<br />
for sport in <strong>Qatar</strong> but the Chef de Mission sees the Games<br />
not as an end in themselves but as a stepping stone on a<br />
longer and ultimately more important journey.<br />
“The <strong>Olympic</strong> Games provide an opportunity to show<br />
<strong>Qatar</strong> and the world what is happening in sport in <strong>Qatar</strong>.<br />
Our ultimate goal though is beyond Beijing. It is about<br />
continually bringing youngsters into sport, identifying<br />
their talents and providing them with the facilities,<br />
resources and support they need to achieve their potential,”<br />
Khalil Al Jabber said.<br />
“We have to think constantly about the future and<br />
while our immediate focus may be Beijing 2008, at the<br />
back of our minds is the task of developing talent for the<br />
2010 Asian Games in Guanzou and, beyond that, the<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Games in London in 2012.<br />
“We have created a sports structure in <strong>Qatar</strong> in which<br />
everything comes under the <strong>Olympic</strong> umbrella. This<br />
extends from our highly successful Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Day<br />
programme to the Games themselves.<br />
“For reasons of enjoyment, social fulfilment and health,<br />
we want to encourage <strong>Qatar</strong>is of all ages to engage in sport<br />
and it is particularly important to do this by working<br />
closely and supporting youngsters.<br />
“Schools <strong>Olympic</strong> Day succeeded in involving hundreds<br />
of thousands of young <strong>Qatar</strong>is in sport, some for the first<br />
time. Many will have enjoyed the experience and been<br />
encouraged to develop their sporting interests and talents<br />
as far as they will take them.<br />
“This, alongside our ongoing talent identification<br />
programmes, will help us to recognise potential among<br />
youngsters and develop them for the future. The Youth<br />
<strong>Olympic</strong> Games in Singapore may provide a platform for<br />
some of them but our focus is longer-term.<br />
“Success in the <strong>Olympic</strong> Games will be celebrated<br />
throughout <strong>Qatar</strong> and provide clear evidence of<br />
what can be achieved on the world stage. I hope and expect<br />
that this will inspire youngsters who will want to<br />
emulate members of the Beijing team at <strong>Olympic</strong> Games<br />
in the future.<br />
Like some members of his team, this will be Khalil Al<br />
Jabber’s first <strong>Olympic</strong> games and he is delighted to be a<br />
part of it.<br />
“Whether I carry the flag or the country’s name, the<br />
Opening Ceremony will be a very proud moment for me<br />
personally and for my country,” he said.<br />
20 <strong>Qatar</strong>Sport Q3.08