Asian Games await Pacific athletes

Micronesian athletes compete in the hurdles event in the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei in July. Oceania National Olympic Committees and the Olympic Council of Asia signed an agreement allowing Pacific,== including those in Micronesia, and Oceania bets to compete in Asian Games. (The Kaselehlie Press)

Northern Marianas Sports Association president Michael A. White made the announcement during the group’s monthly meeting last week at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.

ONOC president Dr. Robin Mitchell, OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games executive committee chairman Dayanch Gulgeldiyev signed the memorandum of understanding during an OCA meeting on Nov. 28 at the Oguzkent Sofitel Hotel in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

White said ONOC secretary general Ric Blas sent a letter to the regular 17 IOC and 7 associate members from Oceania informing them of the agreement.

The 5th Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games will be the first step on the road to Oceania athletes competing in a full Asian Games calendar in the coming years. Chess, futsal, tennis, Muay Thai, the Russian martial art sambo, Turkic wrestling kurash, jiu jitsu, bowling, track cycling, swimming, indoor athletics, weightlifting (powerlifting), basketball, taekwondo, dance sport, kickboxing, belt wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, and cue sports (billiards and snookers) are the sports offered in the 5th AIMAG.

“This will be historic. This will be a first chance for cooperation between the two continents [Asia and Oceania]. Oceania has many champions,” Al-Sabah was quoted as saying in an interview with the Agence France Presse.

Mitchell welcomed the historic agreement that would give Oceania athletes the chance to compete against Asia’s best.

“We have to see how we can maximize the opportunities for our athletes.”

Oceania athletes, after the AIMAG, would also be allowed to compete in the 8th Asian Winter Games from Feb. 19 to 26 in Sapporo, Japan and the 6th Asian Beach Games in Goa, India.

It is not yet known if the 17 Pacific states and the 7 associate members will be allowed to compete in the 2022 Asiad, which OCA is planning to move to 2023 since it coincides with the 2022 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 17 Oceania member federations and the seven affiliates are also being invited by OCA to attend another meeting in Turkmenistan set in September 2015. American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Naur, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalo and Vanuatu are the 17 National Olympic Committees from Oceania. The CNMI, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna are associate members.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen are the participating nations in the Asian Games.

The latest Asian Games (XVII) was held in Incheon, South Korea from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 this year and close to 10,000 athletes from 45 nations in the region competed. Jakarta, Indonesia will host the next edition in 2018 after Vietnam backed out due to lack of funds.

The ONOC and OCA historic agreement came after Australia was accepted as a member of the Asian Football Confederation along with Guam. (Jon Perez)