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SEA Games to light up Hanoi after COVID delay
More than 5,000 athletes including Olympic champions are vying for over 500 gold medals in the event, which is staged every two years, in what should be packed arenas.
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Malaysia's Nur Dhabitah Sabri competes in the individual women's diving one metre final at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at the National Aquatics Centre in Hanoi on May 8, 2022. (AFP/Nhac Nguyen)
T
he SEA Games open in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Thursday after a six-month COVID delay with Southeast Asian pride at stake in everything from football to bodybuilding and eSports.
More than 5,000 athletes including Olympic champions are vying for over 500 gold medals in the event, which is staged every two years, in what should be packed arenas.
The 11-nation Games include traditional Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming and boxing, but also regional ones like sepak takraw, an eye-catching volleyball-style game where teams kick a rattan ball.
Thailand's taekwondo world number one Panipak Wongpattanakit and Philippine weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who both won gold at last year's Tokyo Olympics, are among the top athletes on display.
Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won the city-state's historic first Olympic gold in 2016, is juggling national military service back home with participating and hopes to regain his scintillating past form.
Host nations typically include sports in which they perform well, helping them clinch numerous golds but leading to criticism that it detracts from the prestige of the competition.
However, with 40 sports in this edition, down from 56 in Manila in 2019, Vietnam insists it is seeking a "fair Games" with little space for local sports.
