Lao judo team gears up for SEA Games

Lao male and female judo experts are training at the Lao-Japan Budo Centre in Vientiane in preparation for the 31st South-East Asia (SEA) Games to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in May.
Three men and three women in different weight divisions will compete in the fighting events, while two men and two women will compete in dance events.
The government is partly funding the team’s training over a period of 70 days before they head for Vietnam.
The team carries the weight of Lao expectations of a medal in judo.
Martial artists were unable to take part in international level events last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, 25 Lao judo trainers and fighters took part in an online course in teaching techniques under the 2021 Japan-Asean JITA-Kyoei Project, run by the Kodokan Institute in Japan.
Following the session, judo practitioners were able to employ new techniques and teach new skills to junior fighters in their respective clubs.
The Lao Judo Federation has not planned any national level events or training sessions for trainers and fighters this year because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Normally, the federation holds a national judo championship each year.
In 2019, the Lao judo team won two silver and one bronze medal at the 30th SEA Games held in the Philippines.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
(Latest Update February 16, 2021)