International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has lauded Doha's effort in promoting the Olympic movement in the region, saying the 2006 Asian Games hosts could one day even bid to stage the Olympic Games.
Bach yesterday visited the Aspire Academy - world's largest indoor sports facility - where he was given an extended tour of the venue by Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) Sheikh Saoud bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
A fencer during his younger days, Bach welcomed the idea of a Doha bid for the Olympic Games in the future.
"It is up to Qatar to be a candidate for the Olympic Games (in the future)," Bach said when asked about Doha's chances of host the Olympic Games.
"The procedure for the next (2024) Olympics Games is underway and I can imagine one day Qatar would be a candidate for hosting the Olympic Games," he said during an impromptu chat at Aspire Academy.
Historically, Doha has bid twice for the Olympic Games - for the 2016 and 2020 editions.
Bach said it was 'too early' to talk about another Doha bid for the 2024 edition.
"This is too early to speculate about the Olympic Games in Qatar. Now the procedure for the 2024 Olympic Games is underway and this is what we (IOC) are focused on," Bach said.
Los Angeles, Budapest and Paris are in contention to win the rights to host the 2024 Olympic Games. The bid teams from these cities are in Doha for the on-going ANOC General Assembly meeting where they will present bid files in front of more than 200 officials.
Bach said the IOC and Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) were together in promoting sports at all levels.
"We’re cooperating with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) in many respects. You can see that international athletes are welcomed and well cared for in Qatar. Many athletes under scholarship programme are benefiting from it," Bach said.
In March 2014, Bach visited Doha for the first time after being sworn in as the IOC President in September 2013.
At the time, Bach gave his thumbs-up to Qatar’s hugely popular Schools Olympic Program, saying the ideals of the Olympic Movement are best served in the hands of the country’s emerging youth.
Bach yesterday said that the Aspire Academy was serving the interests of the athletes and young people interested in sports.
“I was told that Aspire Academy is impressive. I haven’t come here for about two years, but I already see further progress," Bach said.
"It (Aspire Academy) is really a benchmark for the world of sports. What is happening here isn’t just for the training of athletes, but the education and scientific achievements are also really remarkable,” he said.
Bach said IOC's fight against doping was well documented and had far-reaching effects around the world.
"This shows the determination of the International Olympic Committee that we want to fight against doping with zero tolerance," Bach said.
"We are keeping the samples for 10 years so that no cheat can feel safe. We think that this a very important deterrent for people who may think about cheating," he said.
Bach and his accompanying delegation later visited Aspetar, which is the world's leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital.
