Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Gamesin Thailand canceled due to budget shortfall

At an emergency meeting held on Aug. 15, 2024, the OCA Executive Board unanimously agreed to cancel the Games unless the AIMAG Organizing Committee satisfied nine conditions needed to guarantee the hosting of the Games by Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, 5 p.m. Bangkok time. With those conditions not met by the deadline, “the OCA had no choice but to cancel the Games,” OCA wrote on their website on Monday.

Previously, Chaiyapak Siriwat, vice-president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (TOC) and head of the 2024 AIMAG organizing committee, disclosed that the government lacked the necessary funds to host the event. He added that Thailand would have needed to cut 14 sports from the program, which shocked other participating countries, according to the Bangkok Post.

The OCA also cited the limited time available as a contributing factor to the decision to cancel the Games.

Despite the cancellation, the OCA Executive Board has agreed that Thailand may apply to host the next AIMAG after the 2026 edition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“That’s how things are at the moment, but the OCA has left the door open for Thailand to stage the same event in the future,” said Sports Authority of Thailand governor Gongsak Yodmani.

The 6th edition of AIMAG was initially set for 2021 in Bangkok and Chonburi but was postponed multiple times due to Covid-19 and a change in Thailand’s government. The schedule was subsequently moved to November 2023, then February and March 2024, before finally being set for November 21-30, 2024, only to be canceled.

AIMAG, formerly known as the Asian Indoor Games, was first held in Thailand in 2005. Vietnam hosted the event in 2009. Four years later, it was renamed AIMAG and has since been held every four years. It is the second-largest sporting event in Asia, following the Asian Games.