Friday, 6 March 2009

Laos Confirms 25 Sports And 386 Events


KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- The SEA Games Federation (SGF) and SEA Games host, Laos, confirmed that 25 sports comprising 386 events would be hosted during the 25th edition of the Games, scheduled in Vientiane, from Dec 9-18.

Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) honorary secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said the final figure was determined after Laos decided to drop soft tennis from the list at the SGF council meeting in November.

"OCM were made to understand that the host nation will not consider any more appeal for the inclusion of sports or events although a number of countries had come forward to stage such events.

"Laos included water polo as part of the aquatics programme and not as a separate sport," he told Bernama here Thursday.

After the SGF meeting, Kok Chi had said that Laos would stage 25 sports comprising 390 events.

At that time, soft tennis was regarded as a part of the tennis programme, but later listed as a separate sport, raising the number of sports to 26, he said.

With the latest development, Laos would stage athletics, archery, aquatics, badminton, billiard & snooker, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, wushu, muay thai, petanque, silat, shuttlecock juggling and fin swimming.

The 25 sports in Laos, hosting the Games for the first time, pales in comparison to the 43 sports, hosted at the 2007 Korat SEA Games in Thailand but the reduced number of sports was due to lack of facilities and infrastructure.

-- BERNAMA

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