2009 National Championship

News release from the press conference by OCA.

Media Release 9^th August 2009

OCA announces the next Asian Martial Arts Games part of Indoor Games 2013

The curtain of the 1^st Asian Martial Arts Games was drawn today with great success, with the host country - Thailand - achieving a milestone by heading the medal.

At a press conference yesterday evening, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) expressed their satisfaction and gratitude to the organizers, athletes and all involved.

There are a total of 32 countries taking home medals in the Games. Its very pleasing to see the first time some countries receiving gold medals, for first time including Bhutan and Brunei Darussalam. Martial Arts are our heritage in Asia, not only the sports but also in some cases from a spiritual perspective. Thailand deserved its victory, said Timothy Tsun Ting Fok acting on behalf of the OCA President Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahad Al Sabah.

Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports, Dr.Sasithara Pichaichannarong, on behalf of the Thai government, expressed appreciation and gratitude to OCA.

We would like to thank the OCA for giving us an opportunity to organize this event. As the tournament was postponed twice, our work was very tough. However, these difficulties turned out to be a challenge to organise this event. We also have to thank all people for their collaboration, including all those behind the scenes, said Dr. Sasithara.

Maj Gen Charouck Arirachakaran, Chairman of the Secretariat of the 1^stAsian Martial Arts Games 2009 was impressed by the success of Thailand.

We would like to thank all for their cooperation and believe that our motto The Games of Spirit, the Land of Smiles came true. It will be such a good memory in my life, especially about Thais success, said Charouck.

You will see that almost all Martial Arts sports originated in Asia. But it is not only the sport, but also is our culture. We have to thank Thailand for organising this Martial Arts Games. In the future the Asian Martial Arts Games will be combined with the 2013 Asian Indoor Games since there are six sports similar to each other. Three countries, namely Bahrain, Qatar and Turkmenistan, are bidding for hosting the Games, said Husain Al-Mussallam, Director General and Technical Director of OCA,

As for various protests, Kanokphand Chulakasem, Chairman of the Sports Technical Committee, confirmed that all issues were resolved satisfactorily.

The protests from a few countries were brought for consideration to the technical committee and the problems were solved effectively. Every effort we have made in the Games was effective. We would like to thank all people for their understanding and respect for the rules and regulations of the Martial Arts sports, he said.

Chairman of OCA Medical Committee, Mr M. Jegathasen, was also satisfied with the doping control results and the immediate response of the hosts medical team to all medical issues.

In summary from the network of medical stations, there has been no doping issue. There were 300 medical encounters, seven hospital admissions and six of seven have recovered. The team manager from Singapore thanked Thailands fast response when two of his athletes were suspected with H1N1. As for the anti-doping program, there were a total of 187 tests and all thus far (122) have been negative, he said.

Despite some initial hiccups, the 1^st and last Asian Martial Arts Games has been hailed a success with 40 countries participating and a total of 1,500 athletes and officials. About 800 members of Thai and international media have also joined the Games.

Maj Gen Charouck Arirachakaran, Vice President and Secretary General of the National Olympic Council of Thailand (NCOT), said Fortunately we have daily live coverage from the Games as it has been difficult to attract many Thai spectators to join the event. Even though in most cases the sports are known, it is difficult for most to understand the rules as decisions are made by the rules and by the eyes of the referees.

Being unique in the sports are not all mainstreams, we attracted both European and Asian referees, who are specialists in their field, but it has to be remembered that the rules are not completely understood by many and this causes confusion, Major General Charouck added.

We also have to acknowledge that, due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to delay the event on two occasions and that brings with it, its own issues. Fortunately our team has experience with major sporting events, so we have been able to succeed.

It is not easy to run a first and unique event, Major General Charouck said.

He also enlightened that jujitsu received great popularity in Thailand 30 years ago.

Actually, Jujitsu is not new to our country at all. The sport was really popular in Thailand 30 years ago. However, judo, which came after the sport, received more support and promotion from several sides.

As the host country we had no Kurash or Jujitsu competitors which are a must for the host, so thanks to government support we were able to bring in trainers from overseas. For Jujitsu we brought in a trainer from Japan and overall have done quite well considering these are relatively new sports for Thai athletes.

Maj Gen Charouck added that Thailand had soared beyond the initial expectation of winning 10 Gold Medals. And Thai athletes had won 18 Gold Medals.

As we continue to promote Thailand as a tourist haven and a must see destination the contribution to the Thai economy from this number of people associated with the Games is enormous as well as the spin off benefit in telling others internationally of the hospitality offered by Thai people, he added.

Known as the 1^st and the last Martial Arts Games, the event will be part of the Indoor Games, which in the future will be held every four years, the next being in 2013, he said.

The 1^st Asian Martial Arts Games will be mingled with the Asian Indoor Games, which will be hosted by Qatar in the next four years. The big tournament will be present in each year calendar of Thai athletes as a result. Our young generation will have more chances to sharpen their skills in the international tournaments. Besides, this might bring back the sporting spirits of Thai athletes, which we havent seen for long time, he said.

Related Links and Articles:

Report of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Vice President of ANOC, at the ANOC Executive Council, Lausanne 14th June 2009

Jujitsu: the "perfect" martial art

Ju-Jitsu at the Olympic Council of Asia and Official Photos from the 1st Asian Martial Arts Games

USA Official Praises Olympic Council of Asia

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