MANILA, Philippines – The 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games supposedly set November 21-30 in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand has been cancelled.
It was announced Monday night by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), citing the breakdown of sponsorship commitments by Thai organizers caused by the country’s recent shift of government.
“As per the decision of the OCA executive board, the games are cancelled and the next edition will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the dates of which will be finalized shortly and sent to all concerned,” in an OCA letter signed by its acting president Raja Randhir Singh.
It was the third time the AIMAG was shelved and in this last one was with finality.
The Filipinos were actually looking forward to the event after snaring two gold medals courtesy of Meggie Ochoa and Annie Ramirez in jiu-jitsu and 14 silver and the same number of bronze medals in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2017.
The country was supposed to field in 421 athletes seeing action in 37 of the 41 sports disciplines.
It was supposed to be the next big tournament for the Filipinos following their momentous two-gold, two-bronze haul in the Paris Olympics a few weeks ago.
It wasn’t meant to be though.