Muay lao bronze medallist in the men's 54kg division at the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand , Somdy Douangmala is training in China for the next three months in the hope of representing Laos in the wushu event at this year's SEA Games.
Somdy hopes to join the national wushu team for the games after missing out on selection for the national muay lao team.
National selectors will use the training camp in China as a basis for choosing the national wushu squad to compete in the games later this year.
National muay lao trainer, Mr Somsa-nga Phimmachan said Somdy did not pass the muay lao selection rounds for this year's games.
Mr Somsa-nga said there are many talented young Lao kick-boxers ready to represent the country at the games.
A determined fighter, Somdy has shown his skill in the Vientiane Muay Lao Competition at the Sokxay and National Circus rings many times.
After representing the Ministry of National Defence at the eighth National Games in Champassak province last December, Somdy trained in wushu at a national camp in Anou village, Chanthabouly district.
Somdy had been training at the National Sports Training Centre in Sikeuth village in Naxaithong district for the last four months before he departed for China last week.
Last week, the muay lao team won a gold, four silver and one bronze medal in the Asian Martial Arts competition in Bangkok in Thailand .
The Muay Lao Federation has many medallists from the national games lined up for the SEA Games.
The organisers of this year's SEA Games say they are expecting nearly 4,250 competitors, including over 1,800 females, from 10 countries.
There will also be over 700 officials in attendance, along with nearly 200 managers and support staff.
The Lao National Sports Committee is still waiting for Timor L'este to confirm how many athletes they will send to compete in the games.
The committee will enter 344 male and 303 female Lao athletes to compete on their home soil.
Thailand will send the largest contingent of athletes with over 540 males and 310 females. The SEA Games will consist of 25 sports - athletics, aquatics (water polo, diving, swimming), archery, badminton, billiard-snooker, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate-do, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu, fin swimming, muay, pencak silat, petanque, and shuttle cock.
By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes
