Israeli, Palestine NOCs for Peace; Japan Lobbies for Championships; UAE Improvement

Japan NOC President: Keep Gymnastics Worlds in Tokyo

Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japan Olympic Committee, says keeping the gymnastics world championships in Tokyo would help the country rebuild, following the devastating March 11 earthquake in Sendai.

In an April 18 letter to gymnastics federation chief Bruno Grandi, Takeda says "As an Olympic family and friend, I would like to ask for your strong message that athletes’ participation to the world championships is vital, not only to compete but also to bring the people’s hopes up and encourage them to overcome this disaster. Young children watching athletes perform will certainly be a good cause and show human excellence right in front of their eyes."

Gymnastics federation FIG says a decision on whether to move the event will come at the end of May.

The venue for the championships, Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, was undamaged but there are concerns about radiation and other issues arising from the quake.

Oct. 7 to 16 are the scheduled dates for the event.

If Japan loses the gymnastics worlds, it would be the second world championships moved due to the earthquake. The International Skating Union moved the figure skating world championships from Tokyo to Moscow.

Round Two for Palestine-Israel NOC Talks

A second round of talks between leaders of the Israel and Palestine Olympic Committees ends without any breakthroughs, according to reports from Rome.

The meeting was organized by IOC vice president Mario Pescante, who is the chair of the IOC International Relations Commission and was involved with the first meeting held in January at IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

Palestinian Olympic Committee president Jibril Rajoub says Israel must allow free travel to compete in sports events.

"The Palestinian players and athletes are not able to move inside the Palestinian territories and from the Palestinian territories to outside," said Rajoub.

Israeli NOC secretary general Efraim Zinger says there must be an end to the refusal of some athletes to compete against Israelis. Zinger invited the Palestinians to train with Israelis for the London Games.

"We are ready to host the Palestinian Olympic team and help them prepare for the 2012 London Games. We already offered it and I hope that Mr. Rajoub will accept it," said Zinger.

The two delegations are supposed to meet again in Lausanne May 12.

UAE Must Improve

The secretary general for the United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee says the country must produce better athletes.

Saeed Abdul Gaffar Hussain told Gulf News at the UAE NOC general assembly that Emirati athletes sometimes acted as if "they were going on a picnic" instead of a high-level competition.

"We need a total overhaul in the way our sportspersons and associations think. We can no longer go in as mere representatives of the UAE at any competition, whether international or regional. We ought to go in as true ambassadors of the country, who are there to compete and win medals and honors for the UAE."

The UAE NOC was founded in 1980 and sent Olympians to seven Summer Olympics, but no Winter Olympics. Around 30 Olympians have represented the country, and only one has won a medal. Ahmed al Maktoum won the men’s double trap shooting event in Athens.

China to Assist Vietnam

Chinese Olympic Committee president Liu Peng met with Vietnamese deputy prime minister Nguyen Thien Nhan Wednesday to discuss continuing their sporting partnership.

According to media reports, Liu, who is also China's General Administrator of Sports, said China will help train Vietnamese athletes and coaches for the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Asian Games.

China will also help Vietnam stage the 2019 Asian Games.

Written by Ed Hula III.