December 5, 2009, Saturday
VIENTIANE: Malaysia is sending 469 athletes and officials to the 25th SEA Games here, making it the fourth biggest contingent in the biennial meet which officially opens on Dec 9.According to the Games organising statistics, Malaysia is sending 348 athletes and 121 officials to the Games.
MALAYSIA BOLEH!: Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Datuk Wee Jeck Seng (centre) with the Malaysian Laos SEA Games contingent after the Jalur Gemilang presentation in Putrajaya.
Except for shuttlecock juggling, muay thai, fin swimming and wrestling, Malaysia will take part in another 21 sports offered in Vientiane. The sports are athletics, aquatics, archery, badminton, snooker & billiards, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wushu, silat and petanque. The 2007 SEA Games defending champion Thailand, who is determined to defend its crown, is sending an 842-strong contingent, comprising 550 athletes and 292 officials, making it the biggest team in the Games.
Second is host Laos with 743 contingent members (482 athletes and 261 officials), followed by Vietnam (671), Malaysia, Indonesia (465), Philippines (413), Myanmar (400), Singapore (392), Cambodia (204), Brunei (79) and Timor Leste (77). The smallest contingents are Brunei and Timor Leste with 30 and 37 athletes respectively. Brunei will contest in six sports and Timor Leste, seven.
A total of 4,869 athletes, who will vie for 370 gold, 370 silver and 539 bronze medals, with athletics being the most popular sports with the participation of 288 athletes, followed by football (280), shooting (169), sepak takraw (167), swimming (140), karate (130), cycling (116), archery (114), badminton (114) and judo (101).
Shuttlecock juggling, which is popular among the Indochina nations, received the lowest participation among the 25 sports offered here. It recorded 22 participants from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. — Bernama
