JAKARTA: Kuwait Olympic Committee was welcomed back into the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at the 37th OCA General Assembly on Sunday.
However, Kuwait was warned by the OCA today to stop its “world record” of government interference in sport or face being exiled for a third time.
And the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that despite its “gesture of goodwill” the reasons for its original suspension remained valid.
“We hope this will not happen in the future and the Kuwait government will respect the roadmap they have agreed with the IOC to lead to fresh, clean, transparent and democratic elections based on each sport’s statutes approved by their respective international bodies.”
Kuwait NOC was suspended by the IOC in October 2015 for the second time since 2010 due to government interference but the IOC executive board provisionally lifted the suspension on August 16.
This allowed Kuwait to compete in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2 under their own flag and with the national anthem ready for the victory podium should Kuwaiti athletes win a Gold medal.
The secretary general of Kuwait Olympic Committee, Obaid Z Al-Anzi, made a point of thanking the OCA general assembly delegates for their support.
“I am very happy to be here in Jakarta to represent my country Kuwait and with the Kuwait flag,” he said.
“On behalf of the Kuwait Olympic Committee I would like to thank the International Olympic Committee, the OCA and all the National Olympic Committees of Asia for protecting the autonomy of the Kuwait Olympic Committee. We are looking forward to the process being completed.”
Although the lifting of the suspension is provisional, the IOC will check on the situation in the near future with a view to lifting the suspension permanently.
OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, himself from Kuwait, said: “We are happy that the Kuwait flag is back to complete the 45 flags of the OCA.”
At the 18th Asian Games opening ceremony on Saturday night, Kuwaiti athletes and officials marched behind their flag.
