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Participant from the 2014 Tour of the Dragon edition Hilary Oliva Faxon shares an article on Biking in Bhutan with no shocks, no balls, and a very gracious prince by Hilary Oliva Faxon Daughter of the Dragon

Mr. Karma Shacha, Managing Director of M/s Drangchu Beverages (Pepsi) will be signing a memorandum of agreement with the Bhutan Olympic committee and the Bhutan Basketball Federation on 20thof October, 2014. Recognizing the importance of private sector participation in the development of sports in the nation, M/s Drangchu Beverages agreed to support the National Basketball league of Bhutan Basketball Federation and Nub-Wang Mountain Bike Race. The League was established in 2013 March by the Bhutan Basketball Federation to take basketball to provide youth with an opportunity to experience the benefits of playing Basketball and promote a vibrant and sustainable club culture in Bhutan. As expressed by the Mr. Tokey Dorji, General Secretary of Bhutan Basketball Federation “ with the youth of Bhutan showing great interest in forming clubs, we aim to use this opportunity to inculcate values and life skills in our youth”. As per the MOA this partnership will provide the Bhutan Basketball Federation and the Bhutan Olympic Committee, resources to ensure the successful organization of the events. Mr. Sonam Karma Tshering, secretary general of the Bhutan Olympic Committee stated that the private sector was one of the most important stakeholders for the development of sports in the nation and that such alliances would help reinforce the sustainability of the sports sector and its development. M/s Drangchu Beverages will provide the Bhutan Basketball Federation and the Bhutan Olympic committee with financial support of Nu. 595,000/- for the National Basketball League and Nu.600, 000/- for the Nub-Wang Mountain Bike Race. The Memorandum of Agreement will remain in effect for a period of 3 years and will cover the organization of 3 editions of the National Basketball League and Nub-Wang Mountain Biking Race.

4th October Incheon, Korea: There was more to celebrate than just the closing of the Asian Games in Incheon today. The closing of the 17th Incheon Asian Games today saw North Korea’s second powerful man, Hwang Pyong So sitting next to the South Korean Prime Minister Jung Hong Won at the Royal Box along with the many VIPs. North Korea decided to send three high officials on a rare visit to South Korea to attend the closing of the Asian Games and also hold highest-level inter-Korean talks. At the end of the 17th Asiad in Incheon which saw 17 new World Records prospered a development of unification between the North and the South. This surprise visit from the top officials from the North marks the highest-level contact in almost a decade and elevates the hopes of development in their relationships and also enriches the core idea of the Asian Games of solidarity and promoting Co-operation and Unity within the Asian family. The president of the Olympic Council of Asia, HH Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah in his closing remarks thanked the people of Korea, the Korean government, various stakeholders and the participating nations involved in making the games a success. “The time has come upon us to say goodbye to Incheon and Korea, the Asian Games is not only about winning medals but representing your country, trying your best and taking pride in your flag. It is about sportsmanship and fair play and about friendship and team spirit.” Emotions ran high and low during the action packed 15 days where 9,500 athletes from 45 Asian countries competed for the 439 Gold medals up for grabs at the sporting spectacle. China topped the medals table with 151 gold medals, followed by South Korea’s 79 and Japan’s 47. In his closing remarks HH Shiekh Ahmad also extended his support to the participants and said “we must move on to the next level which is the Olympics and in order to do so the Olympic Council of Asia will always be there to support you.” The closing ceremony also saw HH Sheikh Ahmad presenting awards to the winners of the Asian Kids Arts Competition and the Samsung MVP award to Kosuke Hagino, from Japan. The Japanese swimmer won 4 gold medals at the Incheon Games in 200m and 400m individual medley, 200m freestyle and 4x200mrelay races. He also won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle and 2 bronze medals in the 100m and the 200m backstroke races. The Games flame was extinguished marking the end of the Asian Games at Incheon; however the celebrations continued with various Korean-pop stars like Sistar, CN Blue and Big Bang entertaining the crowd. The Incheon Asian Games which was successfully organized lived up to the expectations in promoting the theme of celebrating diversity in Asia. The next Asian Games, the 18th edition, will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hopefully we will see 18 new world records if not more then. Anyong Korea, Salam Indonesia!

Incheon, Korea, October 5, 2014: The President of the Olympic Council of Asia, HH Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, held his closing press conference for the 17th Asian Games at the Main Press Centre in Songdo on Saturday, Oct 4 2014. Sheikh Ahmad hailed the Incheon Asian Games as an all-round success due to the technical, logistical and social aspects, highlighting the 14 world records, over 28 Asian records and 87 Asian Games records during the 16 days of competition. “All this shows the development of sport in this continent,” he told the media. “But it is not only the sport that makes these Games a success; it is the accommodation, the transport, the Olympic Village and the IT as well as the technical side.” With the slogan of “Diversity Shines Here”, the 17th Asian Games have been a big success in bringing together around 9,700 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees to contest the 439 gold medals in 36 sports. Sheikh Ahmad said two particular events stood out – the men’s hockey final between historical rivals India and Pakistan and the men’s football final between host country Korea and DPR Korea. The OCA President noted that the Pakistani supporters, despite their team being defeated in a shootout, remained to cheer their players at the medal ceremony – one of the “beautiful” moments of the Games, he said. The football final attracted 47,000 spectators as Korea scored the only goal of the game in the last minute of extra time to beat their rivals from the North, yet the game finished in a very friendly atmosphere. “These two incidents showed the solidarity and the success of Asia,” he said. “This is what we can deliver around the world and what makes us feel proud of the Asian Games. “The Asian Games is not only a landmark but also shows our solidarity and unity as well as increasing the technical side of our athletes.” On the subject of doping, Sheikh Ahmad reported that there had been only six positive cases to date, the majority of them (four) related to medicinal matters and nutritional supplements rather than performance-enhancing drugs. The OCA President said the Asian Games resembled the Olympic Games in many aspects of the operations side, especially with the presence of the World Anti-Doping Agency and Court of Arbitration for Sport, plus the competition venues, while the Olympic Village and Media Centre were close to Olympic Games standards. “It was an excellent Games,” he added. “The whole picture is positive, positive, positive and successful.” On the distribution of medals, Sheikh Ahmad highlighted the fact that 37 of the 45 National Olympic Committees, 82 per cent, had won a medal, including 28 NOCs with a gold medal. He attributed some of this success to the seven-year, OCA-Incheon Metropolitan City Vision 2014 programme to assist smaller NOCs in closing the gap on the super powers. Addressing some of the problems of the Asian Games, Sheikh Ahmad said he had already held talks with basketball’s world governing body FIBA over the wearing of the hijab and said the door had been opened to solving the problem. Boxing, he added, had a history of controversy, and urged competitors to respect their rivals as well as to follow the proper channels in a dispute. Sheikh Ahmad thanked the Korean President, Park Geun-hye, the organising committee, the Incheon mayor and city government, the central government , Korean National Olympic Committee, volunteers, police and security for all their efforts in contributing to a successful Asian Games.

The Bhutan Olympic Committee is pleased to re-announce the following vacancies for a period of four years on a contract basis. 1. Position Title-Project Manager Qualification- University Graduate(Civil Engineer/Architect) Required no – 1 Last Date – 17th October 2014 Work Experience- Min. 5 years 2 Position Title-Site Engineer Qualification-Diploma (Civil Engineer) Required no – 1 Last Date – 17th October 2014 Work Experience-Min. 3 years All interested candidates who meet the above eligibility criteria are eligible to apply. Applicants with relevant qualification/training and work experience shall be given preference for the purpose of short listing. Please submit your application along with Curriculum Vitae, Academic Transcripts to the BOC Office, Changlingmethang on or before the last date as mentioned in the above table. For further information and Terms of reference, please visit our website; www.bhutanolympic.org or contact Human Resource Division, BOC @ 322508 during office hours or email to [email protected]. Terms of Reference for Project Manager & Site Engineer Final ToR for PMU

Short-listed Candidates for the Post of Project Manager No. of Post: 1 Note: 1. Venue for the Interview: BOC Office 2. Time: 10:00 AM 3. Date: 2/10/2014 The Shortlisted candidates are requested to bring the original documents at the time of interview for verification. For further information, please contact HRO, BOC at telephone number 322508 during office hours. New Short-listed Candidates for the Post of Site Engineer No. of Posts: 3 Note: 1. Venue for the Interview: BOC Office 2. Time: 10:00 AM 3. Date: 2/10/2014 The Shortlisted candidates are requested to bring the original documents at the time of interview for verification. For further information, please contact HRO, BOC at telephone number 322508 during office hours.

Incheon, Korea 24th of September 2014: His Majesty’s representative and the President of the Bhutan Olympic Committee HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck was on a 5 day visit to the Republic of Korea for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon. HRH arrived on the 19th of September, and attended the opening ceremony of the Asian Games at the Asiad Main Stadium. During the Opening ceremony, Her Excellency the President of the Republic of Korea, Park Geun Hye, the President of the Olympic Council of Asia HH Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, the President of the International Olympic Committee Dr. Thomas Bach and the President of the Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee Mr. Kin Young-Soo and other dignitaries of the Olympic fraternity also attended the Asian Games celebrations. HRH along with the officials from the Bhutan Olympic Committee attended the 33rd General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia on 20th of September, along with important sport figures from the Asian Olympic Family. On the 21st of September HRH granted an audience to the Bhutanese contingent to the 17th Asian Games at the Athletes Village in Incheon, which is by far the largest contingent from Bhutan at a major game. The Bhutanese team at the Incheon Asian Games comprises of 16 athletes and 8 coaches. Bhutan is participating in the sporting disciplines of Athletics, Archery, Boxing, Golf, Shooting, Taekwondo and Tennis.

Kuensel article on the Bhutanese delegation at the Asian Games Courtesy: Kuensel Corporation

The winner of 2014 edition of Tour of the Dragon http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/09/news/asian-games-nepalese-mountain-biker-mounts-unlikely-challenge_346417

The welcome ceremony for the athletes was held today at the ceremony plaza of the athlete’s village in Incheon, South Korea along with the National Olympic Committee’s (NOC) of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar and Philippines. The ceremony take place in the leading up to the opening ceremony to officially welcome the athletes and the team officials to the athletes villages and it is featured the raising of each nations flags, singing the national anthem and a cultural performance reflecting the music culture and traditions of Korea and the ceremony concluded with gift exchange between the NOC delegations.