Tag: sports competition

Hanoi’s 31-day countdown to the 31st SEA Games to start soon

Hanoi’s 31-day countdown to the 31st SEA Games to start soon

carlocarrasco

The wait for the opening of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (also referred to as 31st SEA Games, Hanoi 2021 and SEA Games 31) in Vietnam is gradually coming to an end and very soon the City of Hanoi will launch its very own countdown of 31 days leading to the 12th day of May, according to a report by VietnamPlus.VN. Take note that their nation is working hard on finalizing the SEA Games preparations and Hanoi itself is working on ensuring medical services for the said games.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the VietnamPlus.VN article. Some parts in boldface…

Hanoi is to launch a 31-day countdown to the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), heard a meeting chaired by Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung on March 31.

A ceremony to kick-start the countdown is scheduled to take place on April 11, together with the Olympic Run Day for Public Health and the 47th edition of the Ha Noi Moi Newspaper Run at Hoan Kiem Lake at the heart of the capital city.

Dung, who is head of the SEA Games 31 organising board of Hanoi, underlined that the regional sporting event is an important chance to promote the city’s image as a safe, friendly and attractive destination to domestic and foreign tourists.

He ordered relevant sides to bolster communication activities and finish the decoration on Hanoi streets by April 11 to celebrate the upcoming Games.

Already Vietnam has been welcoming visitors from overseas and so far their national and local authorities have been pretty bullish on boosting their economy through tourism. The high number of COVID-19 cases does not seem to dampen their drive. For a quick look at Vietnam and the SEA Games, watch the videos below.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: How excited are you for the 31st SEA Games right now? Do you feel like wanting to visit Vietnam to watch the SEA Games live and enjoy the tourist sites? What do you think about the 31-day countdown of Hanoi leading to the opening of the SEA Games?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/

Vietnam finalizing its preparations for the 31st SEA Games

Vietnam finalizing its preparations for the 31st SEA Games

carlocarrasco

As the month of April approaches, it is an instant reminder that time is moving and that means the opening of the delayed 31st Southeast Asian Games (also referred to as 31st SEA Games, SEA Games 31 and Hanoi 2021) in Hanoi, Vietnam is gradually approaching. That being said, the authorities and event stakeholders over there are working hard on the preparations not just for the games but for the nation as a whole in relation to their recent reopening of borders to foreigners.

Even though Vietnam currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases as well as the highest daily average of new cases, there is no stopping the SEA Games from formally opening on May 12, 2022. In fact, there are certain sports events of the regional games that will happen even before opening day such as football, chess, handball (beach), kickboxing and rowing.  

From the March 28, 2022 Facebook picture post of The ASEAN Post.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from a report published by VietnamPlus.VN. Some parts in boldface…

Only less than 50 days left, the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) will officially take place. At present, Vietnam is urgently making efforts to complete the final preparations for the safe and successful organisation of the region’s biggest sport event.


Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, SEA Games 31 could not take place as planned in November 2021, and was postponed to May 2022. The organising committee encountered many difficulties in preparations, while athletes did not have opportunities to compete regularly and have training abroad.


The goal of successfully holding the Games is an important task. Thanks to the close direction of the Government, the companionship and coordination between the concerned ministries and sectors, the preparations are on the right track, with the progress ensured. At a recent field trip by Southeast Asian sport delegations, the delegation heads appreciated the host country’s preparations.

“Since Vietnam announced SEA Games 31’s official date in late 2021, the country has exerted tremendous efforts, and preparations are in full swing to meet the deadlines,” said Director (Projects) of the Singapore National Olympic Council Anthony Lee.


He believed that the regional sporting event this year will be smooth-sailing and organised efficiently.

The renovation of My Dinh National Stadium, which is to host football and track and field, has been fundamentally completed while the Water Sports Stadium is also being renovated to meet international standards, ready to host the Games.


For his part, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia Paduka Nur Azmi Ahmad spoke highly of progress made in the preparations at the My Dinh Stadium and the National Sports Training Centre, despite various challenges facing Vietnam, especially the COVID-19 pandemic.

Underlining the significance of the facilities serving the Games, he added that Vietnamese agencies need to speed up the remaining tasks and make sure that deadlines will be met.

Deputy Secretary General for Administration of the Philippine Olympic Committee Carl Sambrano highly valued Quang Ninh province’s preparations, particularly at the 5,000-seat gymnasium which will host indoor volleyball matches.

He added that the expressway linking Hanoi and Quang Ninh facilitates the travel of participating teams between the two localities.

Chong Fui Kim from the Singapore National Olympic Council said although the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a heavy blow to Vietnam’s preparations for SEA Games 31, most of the competition venues in Quang Ninh stand ready to host the regional event.

He spoke highly of efforts and determination of the organising committee and Vietnamese people in preparing for the Games despite the complex developments of COVID-19, believing that the event will be successful.

With regards to the SEA Games preparations in the city of Hanoi, watch the video below…

Meanwhile, here in the Philippines, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) assured that the SEA Games are on track to finally taking place this May. This assurance was given following the Philippines’ participation in a recent big meeting in Hanoi that also drew the presence of the representatives of the many competing countries. The entire Philippine delegation to the SEA Games will receive funding from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Knowing the latest about Vietnam’s preparations for the SEA Games, how excited are you about the region’s biggest sports event right now? Do you think that the daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Vietnam will fall down significantly by the start of May?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

31st SEA Games official slogan is “For a stronger Southeast Asia”

31st SEA Games official slogan is “For a stronger Southeast Asia”

carlocarrasco

The highly anticipated 31st Southeast Asian Games (also referred to as 31st SEA Games or Hanoi 2021) is about 45 days away from formally opening in the city of Hanoi in Vietnam. Originally scheduled for 2021, the SEA Games this May will be significant not only because it will be the first time the regional sports gathering will be held during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it will test the resolve of the Southeast Asian members with regards to sports events organizing, location control and, of course, handling the participation of the many athletes from the member nations who will take part in a wide variety of sports competitions. The determination and focus on proceeding with the biggest sports event of the region (scheduled for May 12 to 23, 2022 although there will be some events taking place before the opening ceremony happens) is already being reflected with the newly unveiled official 31st SEA Games slogan called “For a stronger Southeast Asia”, as well with the official event song titled ‘Hay toa sang’ (Let’s shine), as reported by VietnamPlus.vn.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of VietnamPlus.VN. Some parts in boldface…

Communications for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) have been bolstered as the region’s biggest sports event is approaching.

The official song for the Games ‘Hay toa sang’ (Let’s shine), composed by renown composer Huy Tuan, has been unveiled, showing the pride on the culture and people of Vietnam, and highlighting sportsmanship as well as efforts to achieve the best results, with lyrics in Vietnamese language and chorus in English.


The song also sends a message of development, solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and international friends.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Le Thi Hoang Yen said the song’s lyric is simple and easy to learn. It is hoped to encourage athletes and be favoured by sports fans at home and abroad.

The event’s slogan “For a stronger Southeast Asia” is to convey a message of solidarity to build a thriving ASEAN Community and further promote its role in the international arena.

Earlier, the regional sport events’ official logo and mascot have been introduced, with the logo symbolising a flying bird and a V-shaped hand and the mascot based on the saola – a rare animal listed in Vietnam’s Red Book of Endangered Species.

The saola, scientifically known as Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, is dubbed the Asian Unicorn because it is so rarely seen, looks like an antelope in appearance, and is recognised by its two parallel horns with sharp ends which can reach up to 50 cm in length.

The species was first discovered in May 1992 by a joint team from the MARD and the World Wide Fund for Nature during a trip surveying Vu Quang National Park in the central province of Ha Tinh, near Vietnam’s border with Laos.

For the newcomers reading this, the delayed 31st SEA Games is indeed pushing through as planned with the opening set for May 12 and closing on May 23. While the daily reports about Vietnam having over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases recorded looks intimidating, the SEA Games organizers are still laser-focused on proceeding with the competitions and Vietnam itself reopened its borders to foreign visitors and dropped COVID-19 restrictions on the said visitors. Already COVID-19 prevention and control measures specific to the SEA Games have been implemented.

The 31st SEA Games will be huge as it will take place in Hanoi and in the eleven neighboring localities. There will be forty specific sports and more than five hundred events. About 10,000 participants are expected to join in. A lot of preparations are being done by both Vietnam and the SEA Games members (and their respective athletes who qualified). The 31st SEA Games is something that should not be missed.

For additional insight about the 31st SEA Games and Vietnam, watch the videos below…

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What do you think about the official slogan of the 31st SEA Games? Do you believe that even as Vietnam is struggling with very high COVID-19 cases, the SEA Games will be done orderly and successfully this May? Would you happen to know if someone in your local community qualified to represent your country in the SEA Games in Vietnam?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

Over 650 Philippine athletes counted so far for the 31st SEA Games

Over 650 Philippine athletes counted so far for the 31st SEA Games

carlocarrasco

If you are rooting for the Philippines to become successful in the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (AKA 31st SEA Games, the Vietnam SEA Games or Hanoi 2021) in Vietnam this coming May, be aware that more than six hundred fifty national athletes have been listed to represent the country, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) article published recently. To make things clear, these athletes were collectively submitted by the varied national sports agencies (NSAs) to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). The current number of athletes is tentative at best as there are NSAs still finalizing their respective athletes for the SEA Games.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the PNA article. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has so far summed 656 athletes who will do battle in the 31st Southeast Asian Games that are due in under two and a half months in Hanoi, Vietnam.

POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said majority of the 39 national sports associations which are fielding athletes to Vietnam have submitted tentative rosters for the May 12 to 25 Games.

The Philippines is competing in 39 of the 40 sports programmed by Vietnam for its only second hosting of the Games since 2003. In these 39 sports, the country is participating in 44 disciplines, according to Tolentino.

“Comparing the numbers when we hosted the Games in 2019, we’ll have a delegation that’s slashed almost in half from three years ago,” Tolentino said in a news release on Monday. “And a quick look at the numbers show we’ll be hard-pressed to repeat as overall champions.”

There were 1,115 Filipino athletes in 2019—an automatic privilege that host countries have—and they won 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals for a guaranteed overall title.

“But we’ll have a fighting team in Vietnam, setting aside the difficulties of training and competing or training overseas because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Tolentino said.

Of the 44 disciplines, the POC has yet to receive a tentative list for athletics, men’s 3×3 and 5×5 basketball, weightlifting and jiujitsu.

The deadline for the submission of entries by names is on March 12 and Tolentino said the POC is hopeful to complete the list—including expected revisions from NSAs which already complied with the body’s February 24 internal deadline—by then.

“Several NSAs were allowed to submit tentative lists because they’re still completing their final qualifications or trials,” he said.

The estimated size of the delegation is pegged at 874. Also on the tentative list are 177 team officials (coaches, team managers and/or NSA heads or representatives) and 20 members of the medical (doctors, nurses, and masseurs/therapists) and administrative staff.

Competition venues for Filipino athletes are spread out in four clusters although majority will be in the main hub of Hanoi, Tolentino said. The POC based the clusters on their proximity to Hanoi.

Filipino athletes will be competing in diving, swimming, finswimming, archery, athletics, badminton, 3×3 and 5×5 basketball, billiards and snooker, bodybuilding, bowling, boxing, canoe-kayak, chess, cycling, dancesports, esports, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics (artistic, aerobic and rhythmic), beach handball, judo, jiujitsu, karate, kickboxing, kurash, muaythai, pencak silat, rowing, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon/duathlon, volleyball, beach volleyball, vovinam, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Considering the difficulty everyone had to endure with the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think that the current athletes the Philippines has right now are competitive enough to bring home SEA Games gold medals? Among the all of the above listed SEA Games sports the Philippines will compete in, what are the five sports that interest you the most right now?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/