The official, also the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports assistant general secretary, was speaking during a meeting with Slovenia's specialised orthopedic surgeon Klemen Strazar.

He spent three days in the country to visit the BOC's National Sports Medicine Centre and to "offer his expertise in the field of sports injuries and surgeries".

His visit was an important step to provide treatment to many injured athletic and non-athletic patients at the centre, the BOC have claimed.

Askar said he was "pleased for the ongoing cooperation between the centre and the Slovenian surgeon".

He invited Strazar to repeat his visit to Bahrain so they could "benefit from his vast experience in sports injuries treatment".

It comes as the Gulf Kingdom seeks to improve all aspects of its sporting infrastructure before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Bahrain claimed two medals at last year's Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Ruth Jebet won gold in women's 3,000 metres steeplechase - the country's first official Olympic victory after Rashid Ramzi was stripped of his Beijing 2008 1,500m title due to failing a drugs test.

Eunice Kirwa also won marathon silver, although both medallists were born in Kenya.