CEBU CITY, Philippines—It’s green and go for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from May 12 to 25, 2022.
The 31st SEA Games organizing committee reaffirmed Vietnam’s hosting during Tuesday’s (January 18, 2022) first chef de mission virtual meeting.
With the global uptrend of Covid-19 in recent weeks due to the Omicron variant, many were concerned if the planned rescheduling of SEA Games to May will push through or not.
However, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President and Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino was very certain about the biennial meet’s commencement.
“It’s certainly a go for the SEA Games in Hanoi in May,” said Tolentino, who attended the meeting with Team Philippines chef de mission Ramon Fernandez.
“Pre-Games formalities and timelines were presented, as well as soft copies of the Games manual were distributed to the members,” said Tolentino.
The SEA Games was originally slated in November 2021 but was rescheduled to May 2022 due to Covid-19 concerns in Vietnam.
With the entry by numbers done last January 12, Tolentino said Hanoi set a February 12 distribution date and March 12 deadline for the submission of accreditation forms.
The deadline for the submission of entries by names, Tolentino added, is set for March 12, after which the chefs de mission will meet again, most likely face-to-face, on March 18.
In total, the Philippines is targeting to send 627 athletes competing in 39 of the 40 events in the sporting meet.
The only sports event the Philippines won’t be competing in is Xiangqi, or Elephant Chess.
However, there will be Filipino athletes competing in bodybuilding, which makes a comeback in the meet after being removed due to alleged doping issues.
The Philippines is the reigning overall champion of the biennial Games following a successful hosting of the 30th edition in 2019.
The Philippines amassed a total of 387 medals: 149 gold medals, 117 silver medals, and 121 bronze medals.
/bmjo
READ MORE: 31st SEA Games set May 2022