The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) acknowledged the frustration caused by the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) cancellation of the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) but assured that athletes will continue to move forward.
“It’s frustrating, but we’ll have to move on,” stated POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
Initially scheduled in November in Bangkok and Chonburi, IMAG has been postponed twice before being canceled. The cancellation is due to a breakdown in sponsorships following the recent change in Thailand’s government.
The Philippines planned to send 421 athletes to compete in 37 of the 41 sports scheduled by AIMAG organizers.
Tolentino shared they were determined to achieve better results from the previous 2017 AIMAG held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, if it weren’t for this year’s cancellation. During that time, the Philippines won two gold medals (Meggie Ochoa and Annie Ramirez in jiu-jitsu), and 14 silver and 14 bronze medals.
“But there is 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 concluded.
With the cancellation of the Games in Thailand, the OCA has announced that the next edition will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The dates are still to be set.
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