(PLO)- The SEA Games are still known as the village pond and the host country has great power in controlling the sport in its favor but “forces” other teams. This 32 SEA Games controversy is even more intense.
If in the past Vietnamese sports had complained a lot regarding the sports at the 32nd SEA Games taking place in Cambodia, which would greatly affect the achievements of Vietnamese sports, recently Thailand has spoken out very harshly.
After the host side of the 32nd SEA Games Cambodia announced to reduce the total number of competitions from 608 sets of medals to 581 sets and cut a number of subjects, it immediately met with harsh reactions from some delegations.
At the head of the delegation meeting in Cambodia, the newspaper Bangkok Post assessed that the changes in some competition contents affect the strengths of many delegations and, of course, bring advantages to the host country of the 32nd SEA Games.
Thailand also voiced a strong reaction to its traditional martial art being renamed by the host of the 32nd SEA Games (!?). Specifically, Muay Thai, similar to kickboxing (boxing with legs), was “changed” by the Cambodian side as Kun Khmer.
It is also important to know that Kun Khmer is not a new subject, but a traditional martial art of the Khmer with the same attacks as muay Thai and the same scoring method.
| Southeast Asian sports delegations at the SEA Games. Photo: ANH PHUONG |
The 32nd SEA Games host also has a decision in badminton with mixed content for teams that will debut this year but is limited and only available to 2nd place teams, from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and East Timor attended. This causes countries with a developed badminton background and ranked 1st such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to lose the opportunity to compete in classified content.
The story of removing the content that the host is not strong has existed for a long time in the “village pond” of the SEA Games, but the way of “zoning” and adding, grouping like badminton is considered unacceptable.
In the women’s three-row rower, the new regulation also bans Thai athletes but allows Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, East Timor and Malaysia to compete.
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| Morodok Techo Stadium, the venue for the opening of the 32nd SEA Games in May in Cambodia. Photo: REUTERS |
“These changes might give Cambodia an overall advantage, and the country has submitted further changes to the technical manual for review,” said Thailand team leader Thana Chaiprasit. Mr. Chaiprasit said that adding or subtracting arbitrarily from the host country would make it very difficult for athletes to properly prepare for their events.
The above irrationalities are still being reviewed at an important meeting at the end of this February and whether the SEA Games Council is tough enough for the SEA Games not to get caught up in who the chess goes to, that person… influence the Olympic spirit.
When the SEA Games Council is always heavily dependent on the host
In the history of the SEA Games, the host country has never made a profit, and accepting the host is also taking on the difficult parts for the SEA Games Council, because there are times when the host SEA Games receives the right to host and then takes the reason. due to difficulties and beg to quit. At that time, the SEA Games Council had to run away and beg the countries that had the conditions to receive the replacement hosting rights. Because of those difficulties, plus encouraging many countries that have never hosted before, to be bold as the host, the SEA Games Council always has an extended “term” for the host to adjust to suit the circumstances. scene. That is also the reason why the country that hosts the SEA Games, that country excels in achievements and often leads with an overwhelming number of medals.
CHILDREN
MINH QUANG