The Lao Petanque Federation (LPF) is confident Lao sport's fans will see the national flag raised in victory at the petanque arena during the 25th SEA Games, which will take place in Vientiane from December 9 to 18.
This year, Laos is confident of winning more gold medals in petanque, after claiming one gold in the 2001 ( Malaysia ) and 2003 ( Vietnam ) SEA Games and two gold medals in each of the 2005 ( Philippines ) and 2007 ( Thailand ) games.
There will be 11 gold medals up for grabs in this year's games, with the Lao team hoping to claim at least four of them.
LPF President Khammoui Keomany said on Thursday “Despite claiming just two gold medals at each of the last two games, we are aiming to win four this year with the support of our home crowd.”
“However, we face strong rivals from Cambodia , Vietnam and Thailand , who are world champions. But I believe our team can successfully retain their two golds from 2007 and claim another two.”
“The federation will invite a preliminary squad to begin training early next month, with a final squad to be announced a month before the games begin,” said Mr Khammoui.
“From previous experience we have found that selecting a preliminary squad ensures that all the team members train hard right up until the event starts because they want to ensure they have the opportunity to represent their country.”
LPF is also working to improve the skills of petanque referees in the lead-up to the games. This week the federation sent 10 referees to a three-day training course in Thailand organised by the World Petanque Federation.
The federation will select Lao referees attending the course to adjudicate at this year's games.
By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes
