WIC 2010

photo: qatar tribune

GL: a good read (and with the inevitable -middel east-last sentence)

source Aju George Chris for DSP:

QATAR Association of Athletics Federation (QAAF) President Abdullah Ahmed Al Zaini was a key member of the country's delegation, which won the hosting right for the World Indoor Championships (WIC) at Monaco in November, 2007.
Since then, Al Zaini has been playing a major role in the event's planning and execution. With the WIC round the corner, Al Zaini was optimistic about Qatar's medal chances.
"We're fielding a seven-member team. Our main medal prospects are Samuel Francis Adelebari (60M), Abubaker Ali Kamal (1,500M), James Kwalia Kurui (3,000M) and high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim. They all had won gold at the recent Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran, Iran. Tamer Ali Kamal (1,500M), Essa Ismail Rashed (3,000M) and Khaled Habash (shot put) are also strong contenders," said Al Zaini.
Al Zaini, who is also the WIC's Event Director, elaborated on the preparations made for the championships' smooth conduct.
"The ASPIRE Academy officials have completed setting up the indoor track and field facilities. While the Marketing Department has adorned Doha's streets with the WIC's promotional materials, the media and broadcasting team has ensured great working conditions for local and visiting journalists.
"Hotels for athletes, Holiday Villa and Ramada Plaza, and for VIPs and IAAF guests, Grand Hyatt, Grand Regency, Millennium, Le Park and Merweb, were booked well in advance. We're ready and waiting for the big tournament to start," he said.
Al Zaini recalled that the journey was not an easy one. When he took over the QAAF's presidency in January last year, none of the event's working committees was set up.
"Nothing had been done until then. But the Qatar Olympic Committee, under its Secretary General Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, then stepped in to support us and things started moving. It was an enormous challenge as we had started our preparations late. Great team work helped us meet the IAAF deadlines. In hindsight, I feel we should've started the preparations much earlier," the QAAF chief added


read also about Vlasic:
http://dohastadiumplus.com/content/view/3285/67/