Thong Khon Bags OCA Merit Award
Tourism Minister Thong Khon receives the OCA Award. Photo: Cambodia 2023
- By Ken Gadaffi
- October 5, 2022 2:41 PM
PHNOM PENH – Two senior sports officials have been recognised for their services, becoming the recipients of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Merit Award.
They were president of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia Thong Khon and secretary-general of the Vietnam Olympic Committee Tran Van Manh.
OCA acting president Raja Randhir Singh and OCA director-general Husain Al-Musallam presented the awards at the 41st OCA General Assembly in Phnom Penh on Oct. 4.
Thong Khon has headed the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia for over a decade, spearheading the revolution of sports in the kingdom. He is also the country’s Minister of Tourism, and chairman of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council as well as being president of the Cambodian Gymnastic Federation.
Tran is president of the Vietnam Hockey Federation and secretary-general of the Southeast Asian Games Sports Federation. He is also secretary-general of the Danang Asian Beach Games organising committee.
Greatest honor to receive merit award
Thong Khon, says that receiving the OCA Merit Award was the greatest honor in the Olympic sports movement.
“On behalf of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and myself, I would like to once again express my profound thanks and sincere gratitude to the Olympic Council of Asia for granting the NOC of Cambodia to host this 41st OCA General Assembly,” he said.
“Receiving the OCA Merit Award from the Olympic Council of Asia is the greatest honour for the athletes, coaches, national federations, sports authority of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and, especially, the Royal Government of Cambodia.”
He said the award would strongly motivate the NOC and the Kingdom of Cambodia for preparations to assure the successful hosting of the 2023 SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games and the 5th Asian Youth Games 2029.
In addition, two doctors were bestowed with the 7th Sheikh Fahad Hiroshima-Asia Sports Medicine and Science Award – Sri Lanka’s Chathuranga Ranasinghe and Singaporean Marcus Lee.
“I’m really honoured to be given this esteemed award, and it makes me even more proud being the first Sri Lankan to achieve this tribute,” Dr. Chathuranga said.
