IMSA President Adv. Nandan Kumar Jha (Founder & Advisor Skillhub Online Games Federation) & Vice Chairman Gursharan Singh (Secretary General Skillhub Online Games Federation) joined the founding meeting of the Asian Mind Sports Association, collaborating on key strategies and exciting upcoming plans.
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Representatives of National Olympic Committees and national federations of mind sports from 29 countries participated in the founding meeting of the Asian Mind Sports Association (ASMA), which took place on February 25 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was reported by the National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan.
Opening the meeting, Husain Al-Musallam, Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), has noted that the Asian Mind Sports Association is being created to expand the sports program on the continent, which already significantly exceeds the scale of the Olympic Games.
In light of the growing interest in mind games and esports, the OCA initiated the establishment of this new organization, which would be responsible for organizing Asian championships and promoting these disciplines.
One of the key moments of the meeting was the approval of ASMA’s Charter, which would serve as a foundation for further work and development of mind sports in Asia.
At present, ASMA includes chess, Go, bridge, Chinese chess (Xiangqi), and sports poker (Texas Hold’em) among its recognizeed mind games.
As part of the meeting, elections were also held for the Executive Council for the 2025–2029 term. Gordon Tang, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia and Chairman of its Committee on Esports, Martial Arts, and Mind Sports, was elected as President of ASMA.
The headquarters of the new association will be located in Singapore.
Turkmenistan was also represented at this significant event by Vepa Myalikgulyyev, Chairman of the Chess Federation, highlighting the country’s aspiration to develop its potential in mind sports and actively participate in international initiatives.
During his visit to Thailand, Vepa Myalikgulyyev also held a meeting with Sahapol Nakvanich, President of Thailand’s Chess Federation, to exchange experiences and discuss prospects for cooperation. This included discussions on mutual participation by chess players from both countries in tournaments hosted in Turkmenistan and Thailand.