http://maigoc2007.sports.sina.com.cn 2005-09-07 MAIGOC
The President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), H.E. Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, finished his two-day visit to Macau yesterday (September 7). During his stay, Sheikh Ahmad visited the headquarters of the 2nd Macau Asian Indoor Games Organising Committee (MAIGOC), Macau Stadium, Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre and Macau East Asian Games Dome. He left Macau in the evening to attend the OCA meetings in Guangzhou.
Sheikh Ahmad began his inspection tour on September 6 with a visit to MAIGOC HQ, accompanied by the chairman of the board of directors, Manuel Silvério. After performing a hand-printing ceremony for a commemorative plaque, Sheikh Ahmad was given an insight into the workings of each department.
Then he visited Macau Stadium and Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre, and Mr Silvério explained the design and the functions of each venue.
In the afternoon he unveiled a bronze statue, titled "To Shoot with Unfailing Accuracy", at the Macau International Shooting Range before moving on to the nearby Macau East Asian Games Dome. He also took time to meet with representatives of Macau's sports associations and with the media.
During an official press conference at the Dome, he described Macau as a "beautiful sports city" and said it now possessed sports venues of Olympic standard and was capable of holding top international events.
He pointed out that through holding the 4th East Asian Games and other events, Macau could use the experience to successfully stage the 2nd Asian Indoor Games in 2007.
Among the list of VIPs at the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue were Macau Olympic Committee president Eddie Laam, OCA director general Muttaleb Ahmad, acting president of the Macau Sports Development Board Alex Vong, plus MOC members and local sports association representatives.
The statue was made by the welding of cartridges. The sculpture, including the stone and bronze base, stands three metres and weighs 500 kilogrammes. It was designed and made, over a period of almost six months, by Ieong Sio Wa from Guangzhou Art College.
