More than 500 SEA Games participants from Southeast Asian nations arrived in Vientiane from November 28 to December 2, according to the SEA Games Reception and Protocol Committee.
The participants included athletes, coaches, administrators, referees and technical staff, who entered Laos at Wattay International Airport and the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge . Cambodian delegations and athletes entered at southern border crossings.
According to the committee, some of them arrived last Saturday to take part in competition events such as the men's football, which started on December 2.
The women's football and water polo competitions will take place today at the National University of Laos Stadium and the National Stadium.
Competitions began on December 2, which was the 34th anniversary of Lao National Day. The opening ceremony will be held on December 9 at the National Stadium at km16 in Vientiane .
The first athletes to arrive in Vientiane were the Vietnamese men's football team, followed by football teams from Cambodia , Singapore , Malaysia , Indonesia , Myanmar , Timor Leste and the Philippines .
Other delegations included referees, heads of missions and other staff from Asean countries as well as from Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Iran , Chinese Taipei, the Republic of Korea and Japan .
According to observations by local press at the Dongdok campus and SEA Games Village , the village was already crowded, with some athletes relaxing after training and walking around the complex and others training for upcoming matches.
The opening match in Group B football of the 25th SEA Games in Laos will be played on 5 December considering that they are only four teams in the group as against five teams in Group A.
The first match in Group B at the National Stadium will be Singapore taking on Indonesia while hosts Laos will play Myanmar, who were the silver medallist two years ago in Thailand.
GROUPINGS
Group A: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Cambodia
Group B: Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia
FIXTURES
2 Dec (Main Stadium): Malaysia vs Timor Leste (1500hrs)/ Thailand vs Vietnam (1745hrs)
4 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Thailand vs Cambodia 1500hrs)/ Vietnam vs Timor Leste (1745hrs)
5 Dec (Main Stadium): Singapore vs Indonesia (1500hrs)/ Laos vs Myanmar (1745hrs)
6 Dec (Main Stadium): Vietnam vs Malaysia (1500hrs)/ Timor Leste vs Cambodia (1745hrs)
7 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Myanmar vs Singapore (1500hrs)/ Indonesia vs Laos (1745hrs)
8 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Timor Leste vs Thailand (1500hrs)/ Cambodia vs Malaysia (1745hrs)
9 Dec: Opening Ceremony
10 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Myanmar vs Indonesia (1500hrs)/ Laos vs Singapore (1745hrs)
11 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Cambodia vs Vietnam (1500hrs)/ Malaysia vs Thailand (1500hrs)
14 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Semi-finals
17 Dec: Third/ Fourth Placing (1500hrs at Chao Anu Vong Stadium)/ FINAL (1700hrs at Main Stadium)
The main Lao-Japan Budo Centre is complete and ready to host the judo and karatedo events at the 25th SEA Games from December 9-18.
The karatedo team gives a demonstration at the Budo Centre.
The Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) staged a budo exhibition at the centre after its construction was completed on November 6.
Construction took part in two phases at a cost of more than 600 million yen, funded by the Japanese government and people.
The contract for construction of the centre was awarded to Azusa Sekkei Co., Ltd. as the consultant and the Consortium of Kanto Construction Co., Ltd. in cooperation with Sanpo International Corporation as contractor.
The first Budo Centre in Laos is located in Anou village in Chanthabouly district, Vientiane .
The handover ceremony was attended by Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the SEA Games Organising Committee, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad, LNSC President Dr Phouthong Seng-Akhom, Japanese Ambassador to Laos Masaaki Miyashita, and senior officials from Laos and Japan .
Mr Somsavat said the centre was an important contribution to the success of the SEA Games. The Lao government considered it is as a special project of bilateral cooperation.
He expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Japan , specially the consultant company on behalf of JICA, and the Consortium of Kanto Construction and Sanpo International Corporation for their professionalism in ensuring the centre was finished on time and was of the highest standard
The centre has been fitted out to hold the judo and karatedo events at the SEA Games.
The Lao judo and karatedo teams will live and train at the centre in preparation for the games.
Until now, the karatedo fighters have been training at the National Sports Training Centre in Sikeut village, Naxaithong district.
Judo and karatedo are both Japanese martial arts. They were introduced to Laos in the 1960s and have seen gradual development through the assistance of Japanese volunteers.
The Budo Centre will be the main venue for aikido, judo and karatedo events and will also be used for other sports such as table tennis, badminton, and sepak takraw.
Seminars, conference and concerts can also be staged there to make money for administration and maintenance purposes.
The Lao government's contribution to the project was to demolish the existing building on the site, relocate a primary school, clean the site, erect fencing, hook up electricity and water to the site and do the landscaping, at a cost of 2 billion and 42 million kip.
The construction project is the largest the Japanese government has provided to Laos under its cultural grant assistance scheme. The Budo Centre is the first of its kind for the promotion of Japanese martial arts in the region.
The Budo Centre comprises a three-storey main building and two single-storey buildings with a total construction area of 1,796.2 square metres.
The main building comprises a practice and competition venue, the director's room, administration room, and aikido, judo and karatedo offices.
It has fixed seats for 436 spectators and 275 removable seats for activities such as concerts. After the handover ceremony, hundreds of aikio, karatedo and judo fighters at the junior and senior levels from Japan and Laos took part in demonstrations at the centre.
At the 24th SEA Games in Thailand in 2007, the Lao karatedo team won a bronze medal and the judo team two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Vietnam’s U19 squad drew 2-2 with Laos’ U23s after failing to hold on to a 2-0 lead at the Pre-SEA Games tournament in Vientiane on Friday.
Ngo Hoang Thinh’s 13th minute goal took the lead early and Ha Minh Tuan’s 50th minute goal provided what should have been insurance for Vietnam’s U19 team.
But the Vietnamese side looked exhausted as the second half drew to an end and they lost control of the match. Laos took the chance and pulled one back with a goal by Kaysone Soukhavong in the 68th minute.
Vietnam still had the upper hand until a Vietnamese defender tackled a Lao player in the penalty area and Sangvone scored the equalizer from the penalty spot seven minutes from full time.
Earlier that day, Malaysia’s U19 squad and Thai U19s had also tied at the same score.
U23 squads from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Laos had originally signed up for the October 2-6 Pre-SEA (South East Asian) Games in Laos.
But Thailand decided to send its U19 players just a couple days before the competition started, prompting Vietnam and Malaysia to do the same.
In preparations for the 2009 SEA Games Laos, the Lao Football Federation, Lao National Television, and Crossfire Co. Ltd, are proud to announce the 2009 4-Nations Football Tournament. The national teams from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos are playing an AFC sanctioned tournament, to promote the SEA Games theme of Generosity, Amity, and a Healthy Lifestyle in live television broadcasts throughout the pan-Asian region.
