Olympic Council of Asia
New Year’s Day 2023 Message
By Raja Randhir Singh,
Acting President, OCA
Kuwait City, Kuwait, January 1, 2023: On behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia, I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2023.
The coming year promises to be an extraordinary one for the Olympic movement in Asia as we catch up on the lost years of the pandemic.
The highlight, of course, will be the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8. The decision to postpone the Asian Games by one year from September 2022 to September 2023 was one of the most difficult the OCA has ever had to make – but we are 100 per cent sure we made the correct decision, along with our partners in China.
All the signs point to a free and open Asian Games in nine months’ time when athletes and officials will be able to attend without restrictions and enjoy the true spirit and camaraderie of the Asian Games.
The OCA will have a second multi-sport event in 2023, with the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games taking place in Bangkok and Chonburi province from November 17-26. The OCA Coordination Committee visited Bangkok and Pattaya two months ago and we can assure you that AIMAG 6 will be a memorable experience, with top-class sports facilities combining with the rich Thai culture and world-famous hospitality.
While the two OCA games will involve all 45 of our National Olympic Committees, Asia will hold other multi-sport games, too, notably the 32nd South East Asian (SEA) Games in Cambodia in May and the East Asian Youth Games in Mongolia in August.
The OCA offers full support to the organisers and is proud of the hosting capabilities and the ambition of our NOCs in providing a platform for peace and friendship through sport.
Another of our Asian NOCs, Indonesia, will host the 2nd ANOC World Beach Games in August in Bali – marking a homecoming for the beach and sea sports movement after the inaugural, trend-setting Asian Beach Games in 2008.
The OCA is also set to offer more projects to our NOCs in 2023 through our collaboration with the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity department. We urge our NOCs to make the most of these opportunities to benefit your athletes, coaches, referees and administrators, while continuing to promote gender equity in all aspects of the Olympic movement.
In the build-up to Hangzhou, the OCA will also step up its “Asian Games For All” campaign by holding fun runs, the youth reporter project and children’s art competitions in various countries and regions to promote the Asian Games and allow everyone to feel a part of the continental celebration.
As you can see, this is going to be a busy and exciting New “Asian Games” Year for the Olympic sports movement in Asia – and I wish you all success and good health as we follow our OCA motto of “Ever Onward” into 2023.