13 May 2025 - Attending the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in Kuwait, IOC President Thomas Bach expressed his thanks for the OCA’s and Asia’s support during his presidency, and asked for the same support for President-elect Kirsty Coventry, who also attended the Assembly. They were welcomed to Kuwait by His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait, and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. With them they discussed the role of sport in the region and specifically in Kuwait, which is also host to the OCA headquarters.
“From Asian IOC Members, from the National Olympic Committees and from the OCA as a whole, I have always experienced and greatly appreciated the great energy, the commitment, and the dynamism of Asia. This uniquely Asian dynamism has carried me through my presidency, and for this I will always be grateful,” he said during the Opening Ceremony of the Assembly, which was led by OCA Vice-President and IOC Honorary Member Timothy Tsun Ting Fok, as OCA President and IOC Honorary Member Raja Randhir Singh was unable to attend. On this occasion, the OCA presented him with the “OCA Award of Merit” for his outstanding contribution to the Olympic Movement for more than two decades.
The IOC President called Asia an “exceptional host of world-class sporting events,” mentioning the three consecutive Olympic Games with PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, which were held during his presidency under uniquely challenging circumstances, but also the Asian Games, World Championships and World Cups. “The Asian Games are a model of success and have consistently been a benchmark for all continental Games,” he said, adding: “How much we appreciate the Asian can-do spirit is demonstrated by the fact that we have allocated the first Olympic Esports Games to Saudi Arabia. Once again, Asia is at the frontier of innovation in sport, leading our Olympic Movement into a bright future, always putting our Olympic values first.”
This cooperation was based on these shared Olympic values, the President emphasised: “I am sure that these Olympic values will also be at the core of the relations between the IOC and OCA in the future. I am certain of this because the IOC President-elect, Kirsty Coventry, is deeply anchored in these values. Her fellow IOC Members elected her as IOC President because of these professional and human qualities and her demonstrated track record of giving back to our Olympic Movement. This is why I hope that you will offer her the same spirit of unity, solidarity and friendship that I was so fortunate to enjoy with you over so many years.”
In her speech, President-elect Kirsty Coventry said: “I would like to look at the moment in time that we are in today. We are in a change. I would like to pay homage and thanks to President Bach, who has been an incredible leader for our movement and incredible supporter of Asia, and I want to ensure to all of you that my support for Asia and to learn and to listen from all of you will continue.”
She explained that she saw two broad pillars when talking about the Olympic Movement: “The first is the Olympic Games, high-performance sport elite athletes, and the second, our responsibility to our communities. How are we going to build a better world through sport? What does that look like? How do we inspire a new generation, the next generation? How do we get them to be excited about playing sport? This and these are the two main focuses that I will continue to engage with all of you on in the coming months as we put together our strategy for the next eight years.”
Coventry concluded: “My door will always be open. I am looking forward to the future with all of you, and I'm looking forward to listening and learning from all of you in these next few months to ensure that our movement remains relevant, powerful, and leaving an extraordinary legacy for the next young generation.”
