KARACHI: Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) has congratulated Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) President and Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) Vice President Lt. Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan on winning the OCA Merit Award in its General Assembly meeting recently.

Gen Arif received the prestigious OCA award for his efforts to protect and promote the Olympic movement at both country and continental level.

In its official statement, SOA praised Gen Arif and said apart from his service for the promotion of sports, Arif has also played a key role in enhancing the soft image of the country.

“The OCA Merit Award for Arif Hasan is an honour for all of Pakistan’s sports community,” SOA Vice President Syed Wasim Hashmi said here on Monday. “Arif as POA President fought Pakistan’s case admirably in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and came out triumphant. He also provided players with lot of chances to demonstrate their talent and also led them in the right direction,” Hashmi added.

SOA Vice Chairman Asif Azeem also praised Gen Arif for his services for sports in the country and how he led the Olympic Movement in the country with complete focus, transparency besides keeping an eye on merit. “I am hopeful that Arif Hasan would continue to claim international awards in future as well,”he said.

SOA Secretary Ahmed Ali Rajput said that SOA would soon host a reception in honour of Gen Arif in Karachi for his services for sports in the country as well as for winning OCA Merit Award.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2018