25th SEA Games, Laos

Photo: Lao fans enjoy their home team’ victory
(photo: Vnexpress)

Nhan Dan Online- Lamnao Singto’s brace helped hosts Laos trounce Indonesia 2-0 in an attractive game at Chao Anuvong stadium today.

This is a first victory for Laos at the 25th SEA Games, paving the way for young Lao footballers to reach the semi-finals.

Laos started confidently and brought pressure to bear on Indonesia. In the 22nd minute Kaysone powerful shot was saved by Indonesian goalkeeper Irawan. In the 32nd minute, Sayavuthi’s strike hit the crossbar.

In a counter attack, Yudi had a chance to score but his header was blocked by Laos defender in front of the goal.

After the break, Indonesia played better, intensifying their attacks but could not breach Laos solid defence.

In the 63rd minute Toni Sucipto’s free-kick shot was over the Lao crossbar. Four minutes later Laos took the lead when Lamnao Singto scored the opener from Sayavuthi’s cross. The goal made 20,000 Lao fans at the stadium exhilirous. It was Lamnao Singto who easily scored the second goal when Indonesian goalkeeper Irawan and defender clashed.

In the last 15 minutes Indonesia put pressure on Laos but could not create any real chance to score and conceded a 2-0 loss. Playing an attack game, Laos deserved a victory.

Earlier in another match, Singapore edged Myanmar 2-1.

As a result Laos and Singapore earned four points from two matches but Laos top the table due to a better goal difference.

Huy Nam

The SEA Games Transportation Committee on Tuesday announced transport arrangements for the event.

Committee representative Mr Chanxay Vinavong said traffic arrangements need to be implemented to facilitate transportation during the games, particularly on the days of the opening and closing ceremonies.

“Those days in particular will involve a lot of traffic as it is expected at least 20,000 people will attend so we hope to minimise disruptions and make transport more convenient for everyone.”

The committee reported that all delegations, officials and athletes participating in the opening and closing ceremonies on December 9 and 18 should use Lane Xang Avenue Kaysone Phomvihane Avenue, the Dongdok road and Road 13 South to get to the National Stadium before parking in a designated parking lot.

Spectators coming from the north should travel through Tanmixay village in Xaythany district, and take the newly constructed road to the Udomphon junction where they should turn right onto Road 10 before turning left at Dontiew water tank onto the new road.

This will take them to the Viengving parking area in front of the National Stadium.

People coming from the south should travel to the stadium via central Vientiane . They should turn left at Km21 and pass through Khoksa-ard, Nakhuay and Huakhua junctions or Khoksa-ard, Ban Xok, Xamkhe, and Vangxai junctions, and Nongnieng and Huakhua villages to enter Vientiane .

They can also turn right at Km19 through Dongbang and Ladkhuay to Udomphon junction, drive along the new road until Tanmixay junction and then carry on until they reach central Vientiane .

Mr Chanxay said that parking areas are available for all vehicles outside the stadium.

Vientiane Traffic Police and Fire Fighting Division Chief, Lieutenant Colonel Salong Seng-Athid, said the traffic arrangements will help to reduce traffic jams during the games.

“I'd like to ask people to follow these arrangements on the days of the ceremonies. Traffic will be the same as usual on days without big matches at the main stadium.”

The committee plans to install directions to assist motorists.


By Souknilundon Southivongnorath

Standing Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Somsavat Lengsavad affirmed that sports delegations, fans and international guests to the 25th Southeast Asian Games (25th SEA Games) in Laos will receive good services and leave with lasting positive impressions of Laos.

Talking to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Vientiane on November 18, Deputy PM Lengsavad, who is also Chairman of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee, said that this was the first time Laos has ever hosted a large regional sports event, so the country has made an all-out effort to prepare for the games. Already, all preparations for the 25th SEA Games, including the construction of the National Sports Complex and the SEA Games Village, in where athletes will live during the games, have been completed, he said.

Security work and traffic arrangements in the capital city of Vientiane have been beefed up to ensure the best conditions for the region?s largest sports event.
Laos also sets up a health committee which has coordinated with relevant agencies to take measures against the A/H1N1 flu, added the Standing Deputy Prime Minister.

The Lao Association of Travel Agents has confirmed its readiness to provide bus and hospitality services during the SEA Games next month. The association held a meeting this week to publicise its progress in the provision of services to guests as well as the performers, students and volunteers who will be involved with the games. Association President Bouakhao Phomsouvanh said that after the preparation of staff and vehicles, the association was now confident it would be able to provide convenient and friendly services for guests.

Tourism officials have been trained in foreign language and service skills. Drivers also play an important role in providing a positive impression and have been trained to provide the best of local hospitality. Mr Bouakhao said the games were considered an important test for member businesses as well as the association as a whole, as it was the first time they would be providing services at such a large event. They needed to be prepared and ensure the efficiency of their vehicles and personnel, he said. He said Laos had an ideal location and could offer many tourist attractions in terms of culture, history and natural beauty.

“We will take this opportunity to attract visitors through our tourism promotions to get guests to understand more about Laos, especially focusing on peace and security in the country.” From October 3 until the opening of the games, the association is using between 50 and 75 buses with a capacity of between 35 and 45 passengers to ferry volunteers between the city and outlying venues. During the games from December 9 to 18, the association will use 159 buses to transport athletes and performers. More buses will be used to take athletes to and from the borders of Vietnam and Cambodia.

The association has arranged for staff to be stationed at six key locations to provide information about tourism and advise guests how to get to their intended destination. These will also act as hubs for tours of the capital which will be available every day in the morning and afternoon.

The association is also promoting tours to other places in the nation prior to and after the games. Thirteen tours will be offered for those wanting to travel around Laos.

(KPL) The 25th SEA Games Organising Committees held a discussion on safety, rules of law and other matters during the SEA Games period.

The meeting was held on 13 October, under the chairmanship of the Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Somsavat Lengsavad, who is also President of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee. The other people were Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom, President of the National Sports Committee and Deputy President of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee and Professor Bosengkham Vongdala, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture.

When the meeting was in session, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad heard reports on the ongoing work and they discussed on cleaning routine of the new national stadium and the need to regularly check the water supply system.

Mr Somsavat also drew up a guideline on how the Lao and Chinese engineers should work together to ensure the continuous operation of the water system in the stadium.
The President of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee also heard about the progress of the construction of Buengkhagnong stadium, which was nearly completed and what was just left another 10 per cent of construction work.

Another report dealt with the cross country bicycle track, which had been completed.
A group of people who were recruited as volunteer officials had gone through a training course and a report on their training and readiness was read out during this meeting.

During the SEA Games period there would be an urgent need to send visual and voice signals to the whole world and regarding this the IT State Enterprise of Thailand would be setting up its parabola antenna, with the cooperation of the Lao Telecom State Enterprise.

In connection with communication linkages, another report was read out and it stated that the construction of the road from Phontong to the National University of Laos had been almost completed and it was short of two per cent.

During this meeting, Mr Somsavat urged police officers to work hard and to be creative to ensure a smooth flow of traffic during the SEA Games period and related that there was a need to learn from the recent case of the occurrence of road accidents during the time of the four-nation football tournament.

(KPL) Some districts in Vientiane Capital are focusing on how they can play a part in ensuring the success of the 25th SEA Games.

Xaythany district felt that it should play a special role because the SEA Games stadium is located in this district and the people wanted to contribute to the organization relating to the opening and closing ceremonies.

As part of their effort the villagers are now working harder than ever in rearing various types of livestock and they are meant to be sold during the SEA Games period.

Mr Thongteam Luangxay, Head of Agriculture Unit, Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Office of Xaythany district, recently announced that for the fiscal year 2008-2009, his department carried out a census exercise of the livestock of the district and added it had 4,535 buffaloes, 21,297 cows, 21,437 pigs, 6,483 goats and 278,564 poultry.

The district, he added has six cattle farms with 1,022 cows and 21 pig farms with 17,071 pigs.

Mr Thongteam said that chicken farms enjoyed a rapid expansion over a one-year period, from just 29 chicken farms in 2008 to 49 farms in 2009. Today these farms rear 98,259 chicken.

There are duck farms too, he said, 11 of them and they rear 14,420 ducks.
The district has two shrimp ponds covering 80 hectares and the producers sell 50 kilograms of shrimps per day to the retailers in the market.

The people of this district also rear fish in cages in the Nam-ngum river. They have 700 fish cages and they are planning to expand it to 1,000 cages.

Mr Thongteam said that his district produces surplus food. For a normal year it produces 320.88 tons of foodstuff: 2,853 of pork, 23 tons of mutton, 24,190 tons of fish and 73 tons of shrimps.

Dr. Phouthong Sengakhom, vice president of Lao sport committee, revealed that big projectors should be installed at all the main stadiums nationwide, to let Lao people witness the magnificent opening and closing ceremony of the 25th SEA Games to be held in Vientiane, the end of this year.

The governors from each provinces should encourage their citizen to come and cheer at their stadiums so that they could feel like they are in the real event, Dr. Phouthong added.

Vientiane 's new sports complex opened its doors to the media on Friday to display the progress in preparations for the 25th SEA Games.

During the visit journalists saw that many facilities were complete except for some final touches and furnishings, but some sports fields were still under construction.


National Stadium Director Khamman Khoumphon said during the media visit that the beach volleyball and archery fields were still under construction. “We will hurry to complete them as soon as possible because we need to test the outdoor and indoor stadiums and improve them before the games.”

There are six stadiums inside the new national sporting complex at km 16, in Dongxanghin village Xaythany district. The largest is the main football stadium which can hold over 17,000 people and will also be used for the SEA Games opening and closing ceremonies.

“There are also two indoor stadiums for volleyball and badminton. Other facilities include tennis courts, swimming pool and shooting stadiums,” he said.

Mr Khamman said according to the SEA Games Organising Committee the sports complex is to be tested and checked for construction standards and management before the start of the games.

“The badminton federation is the first testing its indoor stadium and on October 2 the first football match will be played in the stadium,” he said.

The media visit, organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture, was to allow local media to ask questions and view progress in preparations.

Mr Khamman said the organising committee had agreed to hold a handover ceremony of the facilities on September 22, when he believed construction of both the archery and beach volleyball facilities would be complete.

The games will take place at the National Stadium and complex, Chao-Anouvong stadium in Anou village, Chanthabouly district, the International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre, Beungkhayong stadium, Don Chan Palace hotel and facilities at the National University of Laos.

The games will be held from December 9 to 18 and will comprise 383 events in the 25 sports of athletics, swimming, archery, badminton, snooker and billiards, muay, cycling, football, golf, judo, karatedo, sepak takraw, shooting, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, pencak silat, petanque, fin swimming, diving and shuttlecock.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

(KPL) The construction work of a new national stadium for the 25th SEA Games at km 16 is such a few percent complete.

The progress was briefed by the National Preparing Committee for 25th SEA Games to Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad who Chairman of Organising Committee of the 25th SEA Games, on 10 July.

The preparation works are progress in many sectors such as construction of other stadiums, security system and hotels for welcome arrivals during coming great games.
Other accommodation and indoor stadiums and information system are reportedly stepping forward and it considers to be almost completed.

New 12 hotels under construction are expected to be on schedule and they will facilitate and meet visitors’ demand, according to the organizing committee report.
At the same day, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat and his delegation inspected the construction sites of athletes’ accommodations and stadiums.

Photo: vientianemai

The tennis courts to be use for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos, is now 90% completed, reported the Tennis federation of ASEAN.

Mr. Chaipak Siriwat, vice president Olympic Committee of Thailand, the president of Tennis Federation of ASEAN, led the Board of ASEAN Tennis Federation to see the progress of the construction of the main tennis court, with the capacity of 2,000 people, and other 6 tennis courts near by.

Laos confirms that the construction work is now 90% ready and by the time of the SEA Games during 9-18 December, the courts must be ready in advanced and with no problems. The remained work include the decoration of the court and the changing room.

(KPL) The members of National Assembly visited the sites of the opening and closing ceremonies of SEA Games in Saythany District (KM 16) to monitor the progress of the construction work, yesterday.

The entourage was led by the Head of National Assembly Office, Mr Thongtern Sayasen and they were welcomed by the Vice-President of National Sports-Gymnastic Committee, Mr Somphou Phongsa and Manager of the SEA Games Construction Project, Mr Khiengkham Phoutchanthavongsa.

Mr Khiengkham showed the guests the sites for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 25th SEA Games, to be held on 9 and 18 December.

The national lawmakers also visited the Games Village, located in the vicinity of the National University of Laos.

He said the sports complex will have a high-quality electrical system in place before the games begin.

Mr Somphou Phongsa, said the football stadium and indoor courts are of high standard and have been surfaced with the finest imported materials.

At the same day, the Lao National Sports Committees and National Assembly members also visited athletes’ accommodation at the National University of Laos.

The committee and national sports federations will inspect the electrical system after work to bring it up to international standards is complete. Work began on the system in April this year.

The sports complex consists of the National Football Stadium, tennis courts, archery fields, swimming pool, shooting fields and indoor courts which will host the volleyball and badminton events.

The construction is almost complete in 100 percent just only some of decorating outside and installing the electricity system then it will be perfect stadium, which the stadium capacity contain 20.000 seats.

The Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) says improvements to the Chao Anouvong football stadium in Vientiane are 85 percent complete in the lead-up to the 25th SEA Games.

The committee is currently planting new grass in and around the stadium and believes the upgrade will be complete by September.

Manager of the Construction Projects for the 25th SEA Games, Mr Khiengkham Phouthchanhthavong, said the government is spending 25 billion kip on improving the football stadium. The upgrade began in May 2008.

The improvements include the installation of a high-standard electrical system, scoreboard, running tracks and public facilities. The stadium will be used for the first round of men's and women's football matches.

Last February, a delegation from the Asia Football Confederation inspected the stadium to ensure it meets international standards.

The existing stadium has 7,000 seats, which is believed to be sufficient to accommodate spectators at the first round of the football tournament.

The national football team is currently training at the national sports training centre in Huayhong village, Chanthabouly district. The Savankham Construction Company is undertaking the improvements to the football stadium.

The former national football stadium has hosted the Prime Minister's Cup, the National Games and Lao League Division 1 football matches.

The LNSC is also improving other football stadiums at the National University of Laos, Banking Institute and Lao National Television, which will be used as football venues during the games.

The National Football Stadium in Dongsanghin village, Xaythany district, will be used for later round football matches and track and field events.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong