THE Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on Monday the cancelation of the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) set this November in Bangkok and Chonburi.

“It’s frustrating, but we’ll have to move on,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, adding Filipino athletes have been training and focusing on the AIMAG which was postponed twice before being put off.

The Philippines was supposed to field 421 athletes who will compete in 37 of the 41 sports programmed by AIMAGorganizers, who lamented the breakdown of sponsorship commitments due to the shift of government in Thailand.

“We were hoping to improve on the two gold medals Meggie [Ochoa] and Annie [Ramirez] won in jiu-jitsu as well as the 14 silver and 14 bronze medals clinched in the 2017 edition in Ashgabat [Turkmenistan],” Tolentino said.

“But there are no wasted time and effort as far as our athletes are concerned because they remain in top form and there are other international competitions that they could focus on,” he added.

The OCA announcement was signed by acting president Raja Randhir Singh and sent to the POC early evening on Monday, after the deadline lapsed for Thailand to confirm its hosting commitment.

The AIMAG were supposed to be held November 21 to 30.

“As per the decision of the OCA Executive Board, the games are canceled and the next edition of the Games will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the dates of which will be finalized shortly and sent to all concerned,” the OCA said.

National Olympic Committee of Thailand vice president Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat also wrote OCA members about the cancelation and expressed his profound disappointment.

“Cabinet reshuffles at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and changes in the government funding initially designated for the Organizing Committee, have undeniably impacted the preparations” he said. “It is very disappointing that the reasons for such a significant decision are not sufficient to warrant the discontinuation of our plans.”

“I am deeply disheartened by the lack of commitment demonstrated by the relevant domestic stakeholders,” he added.

The AIMAG are a unification of the continental indoor games—which were played in 2005 with Bangkok as inaugural host, 2007 and 2009—and the martial arts games in 2009 also in Bangkok.

They were consolidated starting in 2017 in Incheon and 2017 in Ashgabat.

MANILA — The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), rescheduled for February next year, has been postponed once again, this time due to its proximity to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Originally slated for this month, the 50-sport competition, held every four years, is now rescheduled for February 24 to March 6, 2024, after host Thailand decided to delay.

The consensus among member national Olympic committees (NOCs) of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Oceania led to the decision to postpone the games.

The primary reason cited was that athletes needed time to prepare for both the Paris Games qualifiers and the Olympics themselves.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino supported the postponement, emphasizing that it would alleviate the pressure on the country’s Olympic hopefuls.

“It’s good for us, too, so we can concentrate on other qualifying events,” Tolentino remarked.

Currently, the Philippines has three athletes qualified for Paris – boxer Eumir Felix Marcial and gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan.

OCA acting president Raja Randhir Sing communicated the postponement in a letter sent to the 45 OCA members and 18 Oceania countries on Friday.

The new dates for AIMAG will be announced by the OCA after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, scheduled for July 26 to August 11.

The AIMAG, featuring 50 sports, including nine Olympic events, was last held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in 2017.

(I. Amigo/mnm)