More than 1,000 people took part in the OCA Fun Run in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar district on Sunday morning. SUPPLIED
Wissam Trkmani, projects and administration affairs manager at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), has said Cambodia will burnish its reputation by successfully hosting the body's General Assembly ahead of the 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Cambodia was announced in May as host of the OCA General Assembly on October 4 after the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in China were postponed until next year.
Phnom Penh on October 2 also held the first OCA Fun Run outside China as part of promotions for the Hangzhou Games.
The Kingdom is to host the 32nd SEA Games and the 12th ASEAN Para Games for the first time in its history next year.
And Trkmani, who has extensive experience in organising major international events, says Cambodia is well on track to hold the 2023 SEA Games.
"Cambodia has shown organisational strength in hosting this large-scale OCA meeting and the OCA Fun Run, and this is good preparation for hosting the 2023 SEA Games.
"We hope that the meeting will be fruitful and that Cambodia will enhance its reputation in Asia."
On behalf of the OCA, Trkmani thanked the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) and the government for concentrating on organising the General Assembly of the governing body of sport in Asia.
The successful organising of the OCA Fun Run on September 2 was also important in helping Cambodia gain experience from working with the international team ahead of the 2023 SEA Games, he added.
Secretary-general of the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC) Vath Chamroeun said: "We have benefited a lot from the technical tasks carried out in organising this OCA Fun Run and gained useful experience from working with the international team for this event."
More than 1,000 people took part in the OCA Fun Run in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar district on Sunday morning.
OCA dignitaries, representatives of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and delegates from Asian nations' Olympic committees also participated.
Meanwhile, the Chinese side thanked Cambodia for hosting the OCA General Assembly and successfully organising the OCA Fun Run.
Xu Jianfeng, head of foreign relations for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, said: “I hope this OCA Fun Run, the first outside China, plays an important role in promoting, especially to the Cambodian people, the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
"We want as many people as possible to know about the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and in the context of Covid-19, it has been very difficult for us to organise such Fun Runs to promote the Games."
Hangzhou was to host the 41st OCA General Assembly, but with the Covid-19 crisis seeing the 2022 Asian Games postponed, Cambodia was chosen with the Kingdom to hold the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.
