The Asian Hockey Federation is pleased to announce that Indoor Hockey will be one of the featured games of the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2021 (AIMAG). This is significant because indoor hockey was last featured in the tournament back in 2007.
The Olympic Council of Asia signed the Host City Contract for the 6th AIMAG 2021 to be hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand. The ceremony took place on Thursday, April 23 and was conducted via video conference link, given the current world-wide situation. AIMAG 6 will take place in two cities, Bangkok City and Pattaya City in the Chonburi province of Thailand. The dates are yet to be finalized; however, it will take place in the first half of 2021. There will be 24 sports on the programme.
The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, also known as AIMAG, is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia, after the merger of the Asian Indoor Games and the Asian Martial Arts Games. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The Games are described as the second largest Asian multi-sport event after the Asian Games.
In its history, two nations have hosted the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Sixty-two nations from Asia and Oceania have participated in the Games. The last Games was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan from 17–27 September 2017 and had more than 4000 athletes performing in 21 sports.
The next year, 2021, is shaping up to be a big year for Indoor Hockey in Asia. We can look forward to the Indoor World Cup in February, featuring Iran and Kazakhstan, AIMAG 6 in April/May, Indoor Asia Cup sometime in 2021, and finally the SEA Games in November/December. It’s going to be an action-packed year and is really something the fans of hockey should look forward to.
“This is a golden opportunity for Indoor hockey. After the 2nd Asian Indoor Games in Macau this is the second time hockey has been included in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. We are looking forward to the tournament with high hopes.”, said Dato Tayyab Ikram, Chief Executive of the Asian Hockey Federation.
On the decision to include indoor hockey in the AIMAG 6, Asian Hockey Federation Vice-President Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat had to say: “We are highly honored and grateful that Olympic Council of Asia has chosen the Kingdom of Thailand as the next host for the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2021. This is a great opportunity for growth of indoor hockey in Asia, and I wish for everything to go well.”
The Asian Hockey Federation would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat. We would like to extend our full support to Dato Seri, and would like to facilitate him in any way possible.
