Kuwait, August 7, 2018: The President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, has paid tribute to Dr Nat Indrapana, the Thai sports official who passed away on Monday aged 80.
"We have lost one of the great sports leaders in Thailand, Asia and the global Olympic movement," said Sheikh Ahmad.
"As a member of the International Olympic Committee representing Thailand, Dr Nat served the sports movement with great devotion and energy over many years and at many levels.
"He was very active in South East Asia and throughout the continent and was a valuable member of the Olympic Council of Asia’s Advisory Committee.
"His knowledge, experience in several sports and his advice all contributed to the work of the Advisory Committee, serving as a link between the IOC, OCA and our National Olympic Committees.
"The OCA would like to send sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dr Nat, as well as to the Thailand NOC and the sports movement in Thailand. His contribution and enthusiasm will be greatly missed in our meetings and in our games."
Dr Indrapana, who was born on March 6, 1938, joined the IOC in 1990. As well as his work with sports such as taekwondo, muaythai, bowling and trap and skeet, he was also involved in the organisation of SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games.
With a strong academic background, Nat Indrapana was a key figure in the development of sport in Thailand and Asia, holding numerous positions within sports organisations in his country and continent.
He was Deputy Secretary General of the NOC of Thailand, Chairman of the Sports Development and Improvement Committee at the Southeast Asian Games Federation, President of the Asian Trap and Skeet Shooting Federation, a Council member of the Asian Games Federation and of the OCA and a member of the University Sports Board of Thailand.
He closely followed the organisation of several Olympic Games by sitting on the Coordination Commissions for Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, Rio 2016 and the 1st Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2010, in addition to taking part in the Evaluation Commission for the 2020 Games in 2013.
Indrapana played active roles whenever his country was called upon to host athletes from the region, and he was Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Organising Committee for the Asian Games Bangkok 1978, Chairman of Venues for the Southeast Asian Games Chiang Mai 1995 and a member of the Organising Committee for the Asian Games Bangkok 1998.
And for 10 years, between 1999 and 2009, he held a strategic position within an International Federation as Vice President of the World Taekwondo Federation.
To honour the memory of Nat Indrapana, the IOC President Thomas Bach has asked for the Olympic flag to be flown at half-mast at the IOC Headquarters for three days.
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