18th September, Ashgabat: Eighteen countries converged in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to battle for glory at the 5th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games which will commence on September 21 at the 32-lane Bowling Center.

64 men and 39 women from eighteen countries - China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Iran, Macau, New Caledonia, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and host nation, Turkmenistan.

The team managers' meeting was held at the conference center in the bowling center where teams confirmed their final line up and lane assignment pre-drawn were released for the Singles, Doubles and Team of 4 events.

Dr Danny Santos, technical delegate for the bowling event kicked off the meeting by welcoming team officials to Ashgabat before introducing members of the tournament officials and members of the Jury of Appeal.

The men and women will compete in separate divisions in the Singles (6 games Short Oil), Doubles (6 games Long Oil) and Team of 4 (3 games Long/3 games Short Oil) over the next 5 days commencing on September 21.

The top 8 men and top 8 women finishers in the Singles and top 8 men and top 8 pairs in the Doubles event will advance to the quarter-finals shootout where the top seed will meet the eighth-seed, second vs seventh-seed, third-seed vs the sixth-seed, fourth-seed vs the fifth-seed in a one-game shootout.

The winners will advance to the semi-finals after which the losers will be awarded a bronze medal each and the winners will advance to the final in a one game gold and silver medals match.

In the Team of 4 event, the top 4 men team and top 4 women team after the two blocks of 3 games each will advance the semi-finals where the top seed vs the fourth-seed and the second-seed vs the third-seed in a one-match shootout.