Singapore plans ‘fiesta’ for 2015 SEA Games as it sets June date

Source: Yahoo

Lim Teck Yin, chairman of the SEA Games organising committee's exco. (Yahoo Photo)

Singapore will bring forward its hosting of the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to earlier within the year to get good participation from citizens.

The Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) on Wednesday announced the biennial event would be held from 5 to 16 June instead of November or December as has been tradition.

Speaking at a press conference, SINGSOC executive committee chairman Lim Teck Yin also confirmed plans to transform the 28th edition of the regional multi-sports contest into a “12-day fiesta” with the key objective of involving as many Singaporeans as possible.

The odd timing of the event, which was last hosted by Singapore in 1993, is to avoid conflict with “other major activities” in Singapore, Lim said.

He cited the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan starting 18 June; National Day Parade in August; Formula One race in September; Women’s Tennis Association Championships in October plus “traditional monsoons” and local school examinations come year-end.

Holding the games in June – during the school holidays – would give students and families the opportunity to attend, added Lim, who is also the CEO of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

Sports buzz

While the event will almost certainly see all 11 Southeast Asian nations participating, the exact number and type of sports remains to be finalised.

Lim, however, confirmed the committee is considering over 30 sports – the largest number ever hosted by Singapore in SEA Games history.

Not all will be Olympic-recognised, said Lim, given Singapore’s lack of facilities such as a track cycling velodrome.

On the other hand, due consideration will be given to non-Olympic sports popular in the region, such as pétanque and dragon-boat racing. Netball and floorball were also described as examples of “non-traditional” sports that SINGSOC will look at, owing to their high interest at local school level.

 

The Singapore Sports Hub, due for completion in the first quarter of 2014. (2013 Sports Hub Pte. Ltd Photo)

Staking out the action

The focal venue and “crown jewel” of the SEA Games, as described by Lim, will be none other than the highly-anticipated Singapore Sports Hub, due for completion early next year.

Additionally, plans are underway to “touch up” and utilise sports and recreation centres around Singapore – such as Bishan for gymnastics and Toa Payoh for table tennis.

Lim confirmed that no new venues would be built.

He also addressed the danger of repeating the infamous budget blowout of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), though Lim declined to reveal the amount for the SEA Games.

“YOG was a new property with many unknowns. You do things and you adjust at the last minute, which drives cost up,” he said. “But we’re making use of the YOG experience to ensure we provide and find an optimal level for service delivery.”

“We’ve benchmarked (the 2015 SEA Games)… to be cost effective,” concluded Lim.

Myanmar Games double in jeopardy for misfiring Nur Suryani

Source: The Star

PETALING JAYA: Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi, who made headlines with her pregnancy during the London Olympics last year, may not get the chance to defend her SEA Games double gold in Myanmar later this year.

Suryani, who was eight months pregnant when she represented the country in the 10m air rifle event at the Olympics, may not be selected for the Games in December if she is not up to the mark in local meets.

The rifle shooter took a break after giving birth to daughter Dayana Widyan last September but found herself excluded from the national elite squad at the start of the year.

National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) technical and coaching director Felix Ho said Nur Suryani has under-performed in local meets and it could be due to her family commitments.

“It is understandable but we also want only quality shooters in the national team. Nur Suryani has not been producing results in local meets and she needs to work harder.

“She is losing out on international meets as our national team are competing overseas on a regular basis. We have sent a team to the ongoing World Cup in Munich.

“She is not going but we will continue to gauge her performance here.”

Nur Suryani has no choice but to do better than seasoned campaigners Shahera Rahim Raja, Muslifah Zulkifli and Nur Ayuni Farhana in local events if she hopes to represent Malaysia in Myanmar.

Nur Suryani was Malaysia’s best shooter in the 10m air rifle and 50m rifle three-position disciplines before she became a mother. She was also the first local woman shooter to earn an Asian Games medal, a bronze, in the 10m air rifle in Guangzhou in 2010.

It will be difficult, however, for Nur Suryani to shine in Myanmar as the 10m air rifle and the 50m rifle three position have been dropped as medal events. Suryani took gold medals in the two events in Indonesia two years ago.

The 50m rifle prone make up the six events, comprising 12 gold medals, in Myanmar.

The shooter, who now trains on her own, will be taking part in the Tun Haniff Omar Championships from June 6-9 in Subang.

Meanwhile, NSAM and the Philippines Shooting Association (PSA) will co-host the South-East Asian Shooting Championship (SEASA) scheduled from Nov 4-13 in Subang.

PSA initially won the bid to host the event but requested a postponement under their newly elected president Danili Gamboa.

However, the SEASA association rejected the proposal as it felt the confirmed dates were perfect ahead of the SEA Games.

NSAM honorary secretary Adam Tee said they have decided to co-host the event with PSA for the first time.

The PSA will sponsor the meets’ medals and souvenir programmes.

Korean stint for paddlers ahead of SEA Games

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The national table tennis squad will use the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Seoul, South Korea from June 30 to July 7, as a platform to prepare for the Myanmar SEA Games.

Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) secretary Chan Foong Keong said the championships would be the last major tournament for the national squad before the SEA Games in December.

Foong Keong said six paddlers would be taking part in seven categories which comprise team and individual events.

“The players are currently undergoing intensive training after returning from the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, France on May 21,” he said, adding that the TTAM were not setting any specific target in Seoul since the focus was to expose the players before the SEA Games.

Malaysia won three bronze medals at the 2009 Laos SEA Games through the women’s singles, doubles and team events.

Myanmar expects more gold medals in 27th Sea Games

Source: Eleven

Myanmar athletes are expecting to win at least 70 to 125 gold medals in the 27 competitions in the upcoming SEA Games.

Myanmar will award a total of 1557 medals; 460 goal, 460 silvers and 637 bronze medals to the athletes and hold 33 sports at the 27th Southeast Asia Sea Games to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar at the end of this year.

Sports such as swimming and track and field take up their fair share of the medcal counts because of the various races in these two sporting events. But Myanmar athletes are determined to win 6 to 8 goal medals at the traditional boat race.

Likewise, they also set target to sweep all gold medals at the traditional Sepak Takraw competition.

Among the sporting events that Myanmar has a good chance to win gold medals include archery, billiard and snooker, boxing, bodybuilding, canoeing, chess, cycling, football, judo, karate-do, pencak silat, equestrian, kenpo, muay, sailing, shooting, vovinam, weightlifting, wushu, traditional board race, sepak takraw, petanque and taekwondo events.

Myanmar bagged most goal medals at the traditional boat race, archery, judo, wushu, and international boat race and sepak takraw events in 26th Sea Games held in Indonesia in 2011.

Myanmar wrestling team leaves for Turkey

Source: ELEVEN

Myanmar wrestling team headed to Turkey on May 13 as a part of preparation for the 27th SEA Games.

A 14-member team will receive training in Turkey and they will train with Turkish athletes in five different cities, general secretary Dr. Aung Kyaw San of the team said.

“For the pre-SEA Games, Myanmar Wrestling Federation had requested Turkish trainers to train Myanmar wrestlers. During the training period, the team will also spend two weeks in Azerbaijan for the Pre-SEA Games training. The team will be back in Myanmar on July 31. We will practice to the best of our ability to meet the victory in the upcoming SEA Games,” he added.

The invitational international match for wrestling will be held in the last week of August, it is reported.

The last invitational international match for wrestling was already held in Yangon. Myanmar wrestling team won one gold, eight silvers and 30 bronzes in the match. The 27th SEA Games will award 21 gold medals for wrestling winners.

1st FIBA Asia 3X3 Championships for Boys & Girls 2013

Location: Bangkok Thailand

Date: 22nd - 24th May 2013


Results/Rankings

Boys Division                    Girls Division
1st - Philippines                1st - Chinese Taipei
2nd - India                       2nd - India
3rd - China                       3rd - China
4th - Syria                        4th - Thailand


Boys Division

Group A
Thailand-1 (19) defeated (7) Maldives
China (21) defeated (8) India
India (18) defeated (14) Thailand-1
China (21) defeated (4) Maldives
China (21) defeated (12) Thailand-1
India (21) defeated (1) Maldives

Group B
Syria (16) defeated (14) Indonesia
Chinese Taipei (15) defeated (12) Qatar
Chinese Taipei (16) defeated (15) Indonesia
Qatar (17) defeated (14) Philippines
Syria (18) defeated (14) Qatar
Philippines (20) defeated (18) Chinese Taipei
Philippines (17) defeated (13) Syria
Qatar (17) defeated (8) Indonesia
Syria (16) defeated (10) Chinese Taipei
Philippines (20) defeated (13) Indonesia

Group C
Kazakhstan (11) defeated (8) Vietnam
Hongkong (21) defeated (15) Japan
Hongkong (17) defeated (7) Vietnam
Malaysia (19) defeated (10) Kazakhstan
Hongkong (16)  defeated (13) Kazakhstan
Japan (18) defeated (15) Malaysia
Japan (18) defeated (17) Vietnam
Hongkong (17) defeated (15) Malaysia
Malaysia (21) defeated (14) Vietnam
Japan (15) defeated (14) Kazakhstan

Group D
Lebanon (18) defeated (13) Macau
Thailand (21) defeated (8) Nepal
Thailand (21|) defeated (4) Macau
Nepal (13) defeated (12) Sri Lanka
Lebanon (21) defeated (8) Nepal
Thailand (21) defeated (10) Sri Lanka
Lebanon (21) defeated (11) Sri Lanka
Nepal (13) defeated (12) Macau
Lebanon (18) defeated (15) Thailand
Sri Lanka (16) defeated (10) Macau



Girls Division

Group A
India (21) defeated (4) Qatar
Thailand-1 (21) defeated (6) Lebanon
India (20) defeated (15) Thailand-1
Qatar (9) defeated (6) Lebanon
Thailand (21) defeated (6) Qatar
India (22) defeated (8) Lebanon

Group B
Malaysia (9) defeated (6) Syria
Philippines (13) defeated (6) Nepal
Philippines (17) defeated (11) Malaysia
Sri Lanka (8) defeated (6) Syria
Malaysia (12) defeated (9) Syria
Sri Lanka (15) defeated (13) Nepal
Malaysia (12) defeated (11) Nepal
Syria (11) defeated (9) Philippines
Philippines (21) defeated (9) Sri Lanka
Syria (21) defeated (12) Nepal

Group C 
Thailand (15) defeated (5) Vietnam
Hongkong (14) defeated (11) Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei (21) defeated (4) Vietnam
Thailand (15) defeated (8) Hongkong
Hongkong (19) defeated (6) Vietnam
Chinese Taipei (14) defeated (7) Thailand

Group D
Indonesia (11) defeated (8) Macau
China (21) defeated (0) Maldives
Indonesia (12) defeated (0) Maldives
China (21) defeated (7) Macau
China (18) defeated (7) Indonesia
Macau (21) defeated (0) Maldives


Quarter-Finals

Boy's Division
Q1: China (15) defeated (6) Thailand
Q2: Philippines (21) defeated (18) Japan
Q3: India (21) defeated (7) Lebanon
Q4: Syria (18) defeated (8) Hongkong

Girl's Division
Q1: India (21) defeated (8) Indonesia
Q2: Thailand (14) defeated (10) Philippines
Q3: China (17) defeated (5) Thailand-1
Q4: Chinese Taipei (12) defeated (5) Malaysia



Semi-Finals

Boy's Division                                      
S1: Philippines (22) defeated (18) China         
S2: India (13) defeated (11) Syria         

Girl's Division
S1: India (20) defeated (18) Thailand
S2: Chinese Taipei  (16) defeated (13) China



3rd Place

Boy's: China (19) defeated (16) Syria

Girl's: China (15) defeated (12) Thailand



Final Round / Championships

Boy's: Philippines (21) defeated (19) India

Girl's: Chinese Taipei (21) defeated (13) India

2013 China Open - Women & Men's Billiards

Location: Shanghai, China

Date: 12th - 19th May 2013


Winners

Men's Category

1st - Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines)

2nd - Fu Che Wei (Chinese Taipe)

Semifinalists - Omar Al Shaheen (Kuwait) & Wu Jiajing (China)


Women's Category

1st - Liu Shasha (China)

2nd - Chen Siming (China)

Semifinalists - Kelly Fisher (Great Britain) & Allison Fisher (Great Britain)

Bracketed Results

Men's Division

Women's Division

NSA Must Fulfill Two Conditions Before Submitting List Of Athletes For Myanmar SEA Games - OCM

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR -- In efforts to ensure only names of qualified athletes are submitted for the Myanmar SEA Games selection process, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) has set two conditions for National Sports Associations (NSA).

OCM Honorary secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said all NSA must fulfill the two conditions before submitting their respective list of athletes for consideration.

The first condition is that every NSA that aspire to send their athletes to the Myanmar SEA Games must organise at least one National level competition and need to have a structured and continuous training programme and must monitor their progress.

"If they don't organise a National competition, how can their athletes compete in a high level competition, especially the SEA Games? We do not want athletes to go for the games like 'tourists' or just participate to support their respective regional bodies," he told Bernama, today.

Kok Chi said the number of athletes for the games (by numbers) was expected to be known by July when all NSA submit their respective list of athletes for selection.

He added that Malaysia may send 900 athletes and officials for the games to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung beach from Dec 11 to 22.

The Myanmar will feature 33 sports, including athletics, aquatics, archery, basketball, badminton, boxing, body building, canoe, equestrian, football and Muay Thai.

The host country has also included a number of traditional sports like kempo, vovinam and traditional boat race.

Kok Chi said the OCM would maintain its selection criteria whereby expenses for athletes who qualified under Category A would be borne by the OCM and the National Sports Council while athletes under Category B would have to pay for their expenses.

However, the expenses for athletes under Category B who win gold medals would be fully reimbursed while silver medal winners may receive part payment for their expenses.

Kok Chi therefore urged all NSA to plan and secure enough funding to send their athletes under Category B because the OCM would not advance any payment to NSA for sending their athletes because some NSA had failed to pay back money that was advanced to them for sending athletes under Category B in the past.

SEA Games chef-de-mission Amiruddin aims high

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Wira Amiruddin Embi has pledged to lead Malaysia to do better than the previous SEA Games after being appointed as the chef-de-mission for the Myanmar Games.

“The people of Malaysia will certainly be hoping for a better result than the previous SEA Games ... so, we’ll try to put up a better show,” he said, before thanking the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) for giving him the opportunity.

OCM president Tan Sri Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar announced the appointment of the 66-year-old Amiruddin, the president of the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU), yesterday.

Myanmar, who are hosting the SEA Games for the third time after 1961 and 1969, have included three traditional games — kempo, chinlone and vovinam — among the 28 sports which also include football, athletics, boxing and aquatics.

“I’ll check on the preparations for the Games with officials from the National Sports Council (NSC) soon and hopefully identify and rectify weaknesses, if any, to ensure a smooth preparation for the Games,” he said.

Malaysia’s best-ever achievement was in 2001, winning 111 gold medals as the hosts — Bernama

Vietnam targets to enter SEA Games final football game

Source: Tuoitre News

The Vietnamese national U-23 football team eyes a target to advance to the final game of the 27th SEA Games to be held in December in Myanmar, coach Hoang Van Phuc said Thursday after signing a 2-year contract to lead the team.

To prepare for reaching the target, the team will have four friendly matches with Kashima Antlers of Japan on June 4 and Guingamp of France on May 30. Two other friendlies will be with Myanmar on June 11 in Hanoi and in late October in Myanmar.

At the previous SEA Games two years ago, Vietnam had a goalless draw with Myanmar in the group stage and lost 1-4 to the side in the playoff to compete for a bronze medal.

Not only leading the Olympic team, Phuc also coaches the Vietnamese national senior team at the same time, till May 2015, and act as technical consultant of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for youth training, said VFF deputy chairman Nguyen Lan Trung.

According to the contract, the coach earns a monthly salary of VND60 million (US$2,900).

Trung added the VFF commits to facilitate the coach to fulfill his duties, but the coach will be dismissed if he fails to meet the above mentioned targets.

Myanmar boat race team eyes more golds in 27th SEA Games

Source: Global Times

Myanmar boat race team are undergoing camp trainings and seeking international experience abroad for grabbing more golds in the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, official media reported Friday.

The team is formed with 154 tentatively selected athletes under 15 managers and three foreign coaches, said the New Light of Myanmar.

Out of them, 88 are for traditional boat race, 33 for Canoeing/ kayak. Both veteran selected racers or new faces are included.

Foreign canoe/kayak coaches are hired while traditional boat racers are being trained by local coaches.

A total of 41 gold medals will be presented for boat races in coming SEA Games.

"Current boat race team is even stronger than those in Indonesia SEA Games and has more time for training," the report quoted an official of Myanmar Boat Race Federation as saying.

Boat race is one of 33 games to be played in the SEA Games.

Myanmar boat racers bagged most medals in 26th SEA Games in Indonesia in 2011 with 10 gold, six silver and three bronze.

Joseph Schooling breaks 3 national open records in qualifying for SEA Games & World Championships

Source: Red Sports

Singapore’s Joseph Schooling broke three national open records while meeting four SEA Games, three World Championships ‘B’ and one World Championships ‘A’ qualifying marks in three productive days at the ARENA Grand Prix in Charlotte, USA. (Photo by Nicky Loh/Getty Images for Singapore Sports Council)

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America, Monday, May 13, 2013 – Singapore’s Joseph Schooling broke three national open records and picked up two gold medals at the ARENA Grand Prix swimming meet.

Joseph’s productive outing at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Centre also saw the 17-year-old meet one World Championship ‘A’ and three ‘B’ qualifying marks, as well as four South-east Asian (SEA) Games qualifying marks in the six events he raced in.

Singapore swimmers aiming to qualify for the 2013 Myanmar SEA Games have only next month’s national championships to do so at. Overseas-based swimmers, however, may pre-nominate one meet at which to clock their times. Qualifying marks are based on the third-placed times at the previous Games in Palembang two years ago. There are up to two places available for each individual event.

In the 100 metres butterfly, Joseph finished 0.14 seconds ahead of American Olympic gold medalist Tyler McGill to win the final in a new national record of 52.33 seconds. Joseph, whose 2011 SEA Games bronze medal winning time of 53.18s was the national mark going into this meet, had earlier clocked 52.55s in the heats.

That was good enough to meet the ‘A’ qualifying mark of 52.57s for July’s FINA World Championships in Barcelona, and would have advanced Joseph to the semi-finals at last year’s Olympic Games, where he finished 35th out of 43 swimmers.

Joseph became the first local swimmer to go below 1 minute 50 seconds for the 200m freestyle when he swam a time of 1 minute 49.47 seconds in the final to place third, ahead of American 200m freestyle specialists Ricky Berens and Ryan Lochte. His 1:50.33 time in the heats had broken Bryan Tay’s national mark of 1:50.41 set at the 2008 Olympics.

His third national mark came in the 200m individual medley, where he clocked 2:00.77 to finish second in the final, again ahead of Lochte, who won the silver medal in this event at the 2012 Olympics. As in the previous two events, the national record was broken in the heats, when Joseph’s 2:03.26 broke his own 2:03.79 mark.

Joseph’s other win came in the 200m butterfly, when his time of 1:57.79 was his second fastest ever, behind the 1:56.67 he swam to win the gold medal at the 2011 SEA Games.

In the other two events, Joseph’s 50m freestyle time of 23.34s in the heats was just 0.01s off the SEA Games qualifying mark, while his 51.78-second showing in the 100m freestyle was nearly half a second off the Games qualifying mark of 51.36s.

Bullseye

Source: Myanmar Times

Archer Aung Ngeain took top honours in the athletics world when she was awarded the President’s State Excellence award for sport last month.

 

She was one of 12 Myanmar citizens across as many fields who won State Excellence awards at the inaugural ceremony in Nay Pyi Daw on April 30.

Prior to the ceremony, Aung Ngeain was informed by the Ministry of Sports that she had beaten out around 168 other athletes who were nominated for the prize.

Since starting her career at the age of 17, Aung Ngeain, now 28, has accumulated 52 medals at international tournaments like the SEA Games and Asian Grand Prix.

Originally from Min Dat in Chin State, she began training with the Myanmar Archery Federation in 2002 in Yangon using a recurve bow. She spent two years honing her skills before switching to the stiffer and more technologically advanced compound bow in 2004 when she began shooting competitively, but success did not come quickly.

“In 2004 I entered international events but I did not win my first gold medal until 2008,” Aung Ngeain said.

During those four years, Aung Ngeain began to question her dedication to the sport.

“It took me four long years, during which there were moments when I wanted to quit. Without the encouragement of my parents and trainers, I would have abandoned the sport entirely and would have done something else,” she said.

Now she has her sights set on adding to her career medal haul at the 27th Southeast Asian Games, which opens in December in Nay Pyi Taw. If history is any indication, her odds for achieving this are good. She won three golds at the SEA Games in Indonesia in 2011 and a gold and a silver in 2009 in Laos.

She is currently training at the Gold Camp in Nay Pyi Taw, where she often finds herself giving advice to younger archers who look to her for guidance.

Though she is paid only K100,000 a month, Aung Ngeain said that she did not want to comment on the finances of her sport or the state of the training camp, saying that she was more focused on improving .

She is hoping that the compound bow will soon be included in the Olympics, where only recurve events are currently contested.

Stadiums to be finished in Nay Pyi Taw before July

Source: Eleven

Myanmar plans to complete the construction of new sport complex and stadiums before July in Nay Pyi Taw.

Myanmar will host the 27th SEA Games mainly in Nay Pyi Taw and has already completed constructing Zayyar Thiri and Wunna Theikhti stadiums in Nay Pyi Taw.

One of three indoor stadiums in Wunna Theikhti stadium is already finished and the other two is 78 per cent finished. Moreover Wunna Theikhti swimming pool is also 78 per cent finished.

The three indoor stadiums of Zayyar Thiri stadium are nearly finished and the swimming pool is 83 per cent completed. The construction of the stadiums will finish before July.

The 27th SEA Games will be held from December 11 to 22 in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay. The opening ceremony and closed ceremony will be held in Wunna Theikhti sports ground.

Exceptional Vietnam players for the 27th SEA Games

Source: VN Express

Nguyen Thi Mai Hung

Female chess players Nguyen Thi Mai Hung has a holding capacity of 27 SEA Games later this year in Myanmar.

  New Champion 2013 National First Division flag content standards Nguyen Thi Mai Hung has officially earned a place in Vietnam chess team to attend SEA Games last 27 years thanks to good performances outstanding.

Nguyen Thi Mai Hung is the pride of Bac Giang sports. She was discovered and invested heavily to rise up to become one of the pillars of women's chess team. In 2013, she won the award U20 HC Asia, before returning to the domestic arena and won the championship in Division One.

The new title she won in HCMC is backed by gold for talented chess Bac Giang contribute in the Southeast Asian Sports Festival later this year by the league of nations is a first-class the basis for the Vietnam chess team selection forces.

At SEA Games 27, chess sets will be to 18 HC. In addition to the familiar content in international competition system as standard chess, rapid chess, blitz chess, the host country Myanmar also included many new content. With the power of chess Vietnam, the national team is expected to have a golden season in Myanmar.

Historically attend SEA Games in the past 10 years, Vietnam chess team that won resounding. Most recently, at the 26th SEA Games in 2011, Vietnam was chess champion HC whole team with 8 gold.

Ministry of Youth and Sports Disburse Athletes Fund

Source: Tempo

Roy Suryo Minister Youth and Sport

Jakarta - The Youth and Sports Ministry has disbursed the fund allocated for athletes. Minister of Youth and Sports Roy Suryo stated that Rp 135,13 billion (US$13,88 million) was disbursed on May 1 after the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI). "The managers of sport branches will contact KONI for disbursement," Roy Suryo said in the Ministry office on Friday, May 10. He stated that the fund will be used to prepare and develop national athletes in preparation for the upcoming SEA Games that will be held in Indonesia on December 2013. However, the fund did not include athletes' allowance. The Ministry however, did not provide bonus for athletes due to limited budget unless there is a revision in the state budget (APBN). "I can't promise, but we will try for it," he claimed. Earlier, the Ministry promised to give bonus for athletes who manage to receive a medal. For a gold medal, an athlete will receive Rp 200 million, while for silver and bronze, the bonus are Rp 100 million and Rp 50 million, respectively.

Athletics: James Wong gets closer to defending SEA Games gold

Source: Channel News Asia

Singapore's national discus thrower James Wong is getting closer to defending his 2011 SEA Games gold medal.

 

 

SINGAPORE: National discus thrower James Wong is getting closer to defending his 2011 SEA Games gold medal.

The 44-year-old, who came out of retirement earlier this year, threw a distance of 49.14 metres at a Malaysian state meet in Negri Sembilan.

The veteran, who had won nine discus gold medals, has been improving steadily over the past few months.

At his latest outing, he produced a best distance of 49.14 metres from 6 throws.

The SEA Games qualification mark is 50.26 metres.

 

 

 

Fu will not defend SEA Games singles title

Source: The New Paper

SHE created a slice of local sporting history at the 2011 South-east Asia (SEA) Games when she won the Republic’s first-ever badminton women’s singles gold.

But shuttler Fu Mingtian will not defend her crown at the Games this December in Myanmar.

The reigning Sportswoman of the Year has converted to a doubles player since late February and most recently competed in the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold, where she and Shinta Mulia Sari lost to Malaysian third seeds Goh Liu Ying and Lim Yin Loo 21-15, 21-17 in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

OCM yet to decide on Games' chef-de-mission

Source: The New Straits Times

THE Olympic Council of Malaysia is no closer to deciding on the chef-de-mission to lead the Malaysian contingent to the Myanmar Sea Games in December.

OCM vice-president Datuk Low Beng Choo said there are several candidates under consideration but declined to say when a decision would be made.

A board meeting will be held on Tuesday and Beng Choo said the matter would be on the agenda.

"We are looking at several candidates but we need more information because this Sea Games will be a challenging task in terms of logistics and the number of events.

"The appointment of the chef-de-mission will not be easy as we need to identify who is best to lead the contingent. We will discuss it on Tuesday but there are many factors to consider," said Beng Choo after the launch of the 2013 Malaysia Games official website in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Sectarian violence in Myanmar is another concern in the lead up to the Games on Dec 11-22 in Naypyidaw and Yangon.

National Sports Council director-general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong said they are monitoring the situation.

"So far, Wisma Putra has not issued any objections but they have just advised us to be careful. Our man Ariffin (Ghani) is there reviewing the situation and we will now more when he returns tomorrow (today)," said Zolkples.

This will be the first time Myanmar is hosting the Games since the 1969 Rangoon Seap Games. By Devinder Singh

Sailing squad need new equipment to prepare for Myanmar SEA games

Source: BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: The National sailing squad requires new equipment to prepare for the Myanmar SEA Games that starts on Dec 11, since the old equipment are either outdated or old, said the Malaysian Yachting Association (MYA).

MYA general manager Mohd Afendy Abdullah said the current equipment are more than five years old and cannot be used for major competitions like the SEA Games.

He added that almost all the teams taking part in the sailing events in Myanmar would be using new boats with the latest technology, he told Bernama, today.

Mohd Afendy said normally sailing equipment used for major competitions like sails, ropes and boats would only last for three years and after that period they would only be good for training purposes.

"We have already submitted a request for new sailing equipment to the National Sports Council (NSC) and hope the request will be approved soon," he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Afendy was also happy with the performance of the elite and back up sailors in the national sailing squad that competed in the 2013 Myanmar Open Sailing Championships in Ngwe Saung, last month.

"The success of four sailors in the optimist and laser categories showed that there are ready for bigger competitions, especially the SEA Games, if given the right exposure at world class sailing competitions," he said.

In Myanmar, Muhd Dhijauddin Razaini and Nor Nabila Natasya Mohd Nazri won the boys and girls Optimist respectively while Ahmad Latif Khan Ali Sabri Khan and Khairunetta Mohd Afendy emerged victories in the men's Laser Standard and women's Laser Radial, respectively.

In the 2011 SEA Games hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia picked up two silver and a bronze medal from sailing events.

SEA Games a no-go for bodybuilders

Source: The New Paper

SINGAPORE - Bodybuilders will not be representing the Republic at the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar at the end of the year.

Speaking to The New Paper on Thursday, SNOC secretary general Chris Chan closed the door on bodybuilding after the national body, the Singapore Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation (SBBF), allowed its affiliation with the Olympic body to lapse last year.

"Only affiliated NSAs (National Sports Association) can nominate athletes for major games," he said.

"Bodybuilding is not affiliated, so my stance is clear - the sport won't be represented at the Games."

The new federation, the Singapore Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (SBPF), will hold its first national championships on Saturday at the University Cultural Centre theatre at the National University of Singapore.

But if any of the athletes signed up for the event hope to represent Singapore at the end of the year, they can think again.

SBPF is not registered as an NSA with the Singapore Sports Council.The SSC only allows one federation from the same sport as an official NSA, and the SBBF still occupies that slot, even though they lost their affiliation to the SNOC after failing to renew their membership. 

Thai Brands Vie To Outfit Cambodian Team At Southeast Asian Games

Source: Sports Business Daily

The Cambodian team for the Southeast Asian Games will don clothing and competitive gear custom made "by one of the two reputed brands from Thailand," Grandsport and Football Thailand, according to H.S. Manjunath of the PHNOM PENH POST. The Thai sports merchandise companies, which consider Cambodia "a fast emerging market for their products, have shown huge interest in bagging this contract." The Cambodia NOC and its SEA Games sponsors NagaWorld "will make a final choice before the end of the month." The brand chosen "will closely work with the NOCC and NagaWorld and come up with specially designed attire for the Cambodian squad," which is expected to be the biggest ever to be sent to the biennial games.

State cyclists to compete in Myanmar SEA Games

Source: Borneo Post

KUCHING: State cyclists, Junaidah Juss and Caroline George had been selected to represent the country in next month’s SEA Games to be held in Myanmar.

Junaidah is currently Malaysia’s number two in mountain biking while Caroline was last year’s Pahang Sukma bronze medallist in the road bike race.

State cycling coach, Zulkifli Hassan yesterday told The Borneo Post the two are expected to join the rest of the national squad for centralised training from May 5 onwards.

“We had just received the confirmation letter on their selection and they were requested to join the rest of the national squad on May 5…we are however requesting for them to report for duty at a later date because of polling day,” he said.

According to him, 25-year-old Junaidah had already joined the national squad for training on April 15 after competing in the recent Circuit 2 of this year’s National Mountain Bike Championship held at Telok Cempedak, Pahang from April 13 – 14 where she came in second.

The race was won by defending champion Masziyaton Mohd Radzi who is also the country’s number one ranked rider.

“The selection of our cyclists for the SEA Games had shown that the standard of cycling in the state is on par with the rest…their participation in Myanmar will give good exposure and experience,” Zulkifli enthused.

He added local cyclists are lacking the exposure and experience which can only be gained by competing in as many competitions at national and international level.

Junaidah was ranked number one in 2010 but was overtaken by Malaysia’s reigning women mountain bike champion and fellow training mate, 23-year-old Mazyiaton from Kedah.

The local rider faced difficulties in regaining the top position because of the lack of funds to compete in the same number of competitions her rival had participated.

The Borneo Post on February 28 had also published Junaidah’s plight of not having a stable job to sustain her training and to compete outside Sarawak.

The Sematan lass had revealed the RM200 monthly allowance she received for being a part time coach and another RM300 which was given by her cycling team, Arus Polygon.

Junaidah still harbour the ambition of becoming an Olympian someday but needs to participate in as many of the 42 races being held at national and international level under the Road to Rio Olympics 2016 programme.

This is to improve her chances of winning a slot in the qualifying sessions.

Two local Taekwondo exponents to miss Myanmar SEA Games

Source: Borneo Post

KUCHING: Sarawak Taekwondo Association (PTNS) president, Mohd Salleh Sani recently disclosed two of its exponents are unable to join the national squad bound for the coming 27th SEA Games to be held in Myanmar from Dec 11 to 22.

“We actually have five exponents who were recently selected to join the national squad but unfortunately two of them are unable to make it because unforeseen circumstances,” he lamented.

According to him, the selected exponents were Dayang Farhanah Abang Sazali, Jenny Soh Fong Mee, Marena Tee Zulariffin, Shirley Kua Xiao Zie, all in the women’s squad and Low Kwong Yew for the men’s squad.

Dayang was supposed to compete in the flyweight category (46-49kg), Jenny in welterweight category (62-72kg), Marena in middleweight category (67-73kg), Shirley in heavyweight category (above 72kg) and Low in men’s welterweight (74-80kg).

Salleh however said Dayang was unable to join the squad because she is continuing her studies and is also facing some weight issues while Low on other hand, had to go to Singapore to attend urgent matters.

“We were disappointed with the unexpected turn of events but nevertheless three of our exponents will continue to soldier on and they will join the national squad in early May,” he said.

He mentioned the local exponents were selected based on their achievements at national level including last year’s Pahang Sukma where Sarawak dethroned Trengganu to emerge champion in taekwondo.

The five exponents were among those who brought home four golds, two silvers and two bronze.

Both Dayang and Shirley won gold medals each while Marena Tee won silver and 17-year-old Low won bronze.

“We are proud of them for being selected and their selection will augur well for the development taekwondo in Sarawak where more young people will be interested to take up the martial arts,” Salleh enthused.

OCM Wants Sea Games Host Myanmar To Resolve Logistics Issues Quickly

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bernama) -- The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) expressed concern over the logistics for the Myanmar SEA Games since the organisers have yet to settle a number of outstanding issues.

OCM Honorary secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said he was worried that logistics problems may derail preparations for the SEA Games hosted by Myanmar in December.

Kok Chi said though the OCM had sent a number of reminders to the organisers, the response has been unfavourable, to say the least.

"The organisers in their reply always pledged to resolve the issues raised but such problems remain a thorn in the preparations. We are worried that it may affect the games.

"For example, OCM has asked the organisers to prepare a direct flight from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw (main venue for the SEA Games) but the organisers replied that they must consider a number of factors before allowing such a facility," he told Bernama, Thursday.

The distance from Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar, to Nay Pyi Taw is about 360km.

Kok Chi was however, satisfied with the preparation of venues for the games since most of the infrastructure has been completed with the state-of-the-art technology.

"A number of technical officials from national associations in Malaysia have also visited the venues, especially from boxing, sailing and swimming. They have given a positive report," said Kok Chi.

The 27th edition of the SEA Games will be hosted by Myanmar from Dec 11-22, at various locations in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and the Ngwe Saung beach.

The games will see 33 sports contested, including athletics, aquatics, archery, basketball, badminton, boxing, bodybuilding, canoe, equestrian, football and Muay Thai.

The host country had also included some traditional sports like kempo, vovinam and traditional boat race.

Myanmar are hosting the SEA Games after a 44-year break since, the country that was known as Burma, had hosted the games in 1961 and 1969.

Tough task awaits karate exponents in Myanmar SEA Games

Source: The Star online

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s karate squad suffered a double blow when R. Loganesha Rao and Kam Kah Sam quit the national team last month – just seven months before this year’s SEA Games in Myanmar.

Malaysia Karate Federation (MKF) secretary general Vincent Chen said that 2011 SEA Games men’s kumite below 55kg gold medallist Loganesha, who is still undergoing rehabilitation for an unspecified injury, has yet to hand in his resignation letter while 23-year-old kata exponent Kah Sam cited studies as his reason for quitting.

“It’s definitely disappointing. “The first time they came to see me, I managed to talk them out of quitting. But three months later, they came back feeling the same way,” said Vincent.

“It’s their choice. There’s nothing much I can do if their heart is not in it.

“It’s going to be difficult as we still have some fighters still undergoing rehabilitation, like G. Yamini (knee) and K. Teagarajan (unspecified injury).”

Vincent, however, is pleased that the elite and back-up squads’ exponents are progressing well.

At the recent South-East Asian Championships in Manila, Malaysia bagged 11 golds, eight silvers and seven bronzes. Eight of the 11 golds came from the elite exponents while the back-up squad delivered the other three.

Malaysia’s biggest rivals in the region, Indonesia, have also improved tremendously over the years. In Manila, they garnered nine golds, five silvers and 10 bronzes and could pose a real threat to our exponents come December.

“We have a great pool of talent in the back-up squad. They’re just not mature enough to make the transition into the elite squad yet,” said Vincent.

“Unlike us, Indonesia have at least four exponents for each category.

That offers them the flexibility of fielding their strongest line-up at every event.

“That’s why it’s crucial that the National Sports Council (NSC) support the back-up programme ... we have a credible crop of youngsters who are capable of making the grade to the elite squad.

“Ideally, we’d like to be in the same position (as the Indonesians) and rotate our fighters ... switch things up and keep our opponents guessing.”