Sports teams power up for SEA Games

Eleven sports teams are currently in training for the 31st South-East Asian (SEA) Games, taking place in Vietnam from May 12-23.

Lao footballers train at the National Stadium in Vientiane.  (File Photo Lao Football Federation)

After a sporting hiatus over the last 18 months due to the Covid pandemic, Lao athletes now look forward to strutting their stuff and bringing home medals.
Teams will compete in football, badminton, tennis, golf, rugby, e-sport, gymnastics, baseball, bodybuilding, beach volleyball and table tennis.
A total of 32 trainers are engaged in powering up the 71 male and 50 female athletes taking part, supported by 11 sports federations.
This will be the first time that Laos has an entrant in the women’s singles gymnastics event.
Sports teams have returned home empty-handed from the SEA Games in the past, but this year sports federations are doing their best to improve standards so that Lao athletes leave their mark on the games.
Every, the 11 sports federations run competitions at the national level to give athletes the chance to perform to their best and develop their skills.
Some federations have entered teams in events held in other countries.
The government has allocated a budget of more than 9 billion kip to support 18 teams during training in the run-up to the SEA Games.
A total of 32 trainers and 168 athletes will compete in kickboxing, vovinam, petanque, muay, wushu, billiards and snooker, judo, cycling, pencak silat, wrestling, sepak takraw, taekwondo, karate-do, track and field, boxing, archery, weightlifting, swimming, football, badminton, tennis, golf, rugby, e-sport, gymnastics, baseball, bodybuilding, beach volleyball and table tennis events.
The National Olympic Committee of Laos is employing Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai specialists to train Lao competitors in wushu, vovinam, kickboxing, pencak silat and sepak takraw over a period of three months, to bolster their chances of winning gold medals.
Lao athletes competed in 24 sports at the 30th SEA Games held in the Philippines in 2019, winning a gold medal in kickboxing, and five silver and 29 bronze medals in other sports.
The government spent more than 10 billion kip to prepare athletes for participation in the games.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update March 10, 2022)