Tourism Minister admits regret at being stripped of hosting rights for Asian Indoor Games

The Minister of Tourism and Sports admitted that he regretted that Thailand was disqualified from hosting the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and had already disbursed a budget of 800-900 million baht for training camp expenses and preparation for the competition. Mr. Sermsak Pongpanich, Minister of Tourism and Sports, along with Dr. Kongsak Yodmanee, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, admitted that they regretted that Thailand was denied the right to host the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games from November 21-30, which was postponed since 2021, and that 800-900 million baht had already been disbursed as expenses for training camp, preparing for the competition, and IT and information systems. They also explained that the reduction of 14 sports from 38 sports was considered by the OCA, not the ministry. At first, more than 14,000 athletes confirmed that they would attend, but in the end, only 1,983 athletes participated in 24 sports. They also prepared to help athletes who had to tr ain camp for the past 4 years in all 38 sports as best they could. Source: Thai News Agency