INANUNSIYO ng Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) noong Lunes ang pagkansela sa 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) na nakatakda sa Nobyembre sa Bangkok at Chonburi.
“It’s frustrating, but we’ll have to move on,” wika ni Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, at idinagdag na ang Filipino athletes ay nagsasanay at nakapokus sa AIMAG na dalawang beses ipinagpaliban bago itinakda.
Ang Pilipinas ay magpapadala sana ng 421 atleta na sasabak sa 37 sa 41 sports na prinograma ng AIMAG organizers, na idinaing ang pagbagsak ng sponsorship dahil sa pagpapalit ng gobyerno sa 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],” sabi ni Tolentino.
“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,” dagdag pa niya.
Ang anunsiyo ng OCA ay nilagdaan ni acting president Raja Randhir Singh at ipinadala sa POC noong Lunes ng gabi matapos mag-lapse ang deadline para kumpirmahin ngThailand ang hosting commitment nito.
Ang AIMAG ay gaganapin sana sa November 21-30.
“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,” pahayag ng OCA.
Sumulat din si National Olympic Committee of Thailand vice president Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat sa mga miyembro ng OCA hinggil sa kanselasyon at inihayag ang kanyang labis na pagkabigo.
“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” aniya. “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,” dagdag pa niya.
Ang AIMAG ay ang pag-iisa ng continental indoor games — na nilaro noong 2005 kung saan ang Bangkok ang inaugural host, 2007 at 2009 — at ng martial arts games noong 2009 sa Bangkok din. CLYDE MARIANO