Dubai: More than 250 children representing seven schools from Dubai participated in the Fun Run held at Al Khawaneej on Sunday as part of the educational process for the 2018 Asian Games Indonesia.
The kids assembled at the Al Khawaneej area and were flagged off for a fun run over a 3km distance by Esmail Al Gergawi, President, UAE Basketball Association and member of the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) in the presence of fellow members Nasser Al Badour and Khalid Suhail.
Also in attendance were Elena Hristova Chakarova, Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) International Relations Officer, Wissam Trkmani from the OCA President’s Office and Jeans Zhou Jian, the OCA Media Manager.
“Choosing the UAE to host an event of this nature shows the level of confidence that the OCA puts on us,” Al Gergawi told Gulf News.
“This run is an introductory first step, not just for our country but for these young kids who may one day go on to represent the UAE at the international level,” he hoped.
Mohammad Bin Darwish, Executive Manager, UAE NOC noted that the run is very much part of the country’s efforts in raising the level of sports. “On the one hand the run is meant to create an awareness of the Asian Games and on the other we hope to inspire this younger generation,” he said.
Organised in league with the OCA by UAE NOC, Dubai was the third stop for the fun run after Lahore and Dhaka in December.
The fun run will now travel to Doha [February 8] followed by stops in the Maldives [February 10] and Lebanon [February 25].
The 18th Asian Games involving 40 sports and 462 events will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.
