25th SEA Games, Laos

Photo: Khotsaya, Lao football player is now training in Vietnam

Eleven Lao sports squads are currently training for the 25th SEA Games in foreign countries.

These training camps are expected to provide additional coaching techniques and competition experience to help build confidence and bring Lao sporting teams up to international standard.

Lao athletes training in other countries say the camps improve their motivation as well as their skills and they are pleased they will be stronger competitors for their country when it hosts the games.

At the last SEA Games in Thailand in 2007, many of the Lao teams that had trained overseas were more successful than those that had not.

Vietnam has been an important supporter of Laos in providing advisors and training facilities. Sixteen Lao wrestlers and their trainers have been training in Vietnam since April, while 20 pencak silat fighters are also currently training there.

Other Lao teams to train in Vietnam include seven divers, who are there from June to August, as well as 14 swimmers training from April to August.

Thirty-four male footballers are training in Vietnam from July to November, while some wushu san shou fighters are there from May to November. Another group of wushu san shou and wushu tao lu teams are training in China from August to October.

Five Lao female cyclists trained in Malaysia from July to August and participated in international competitions before returning to Vientiane . Five male cyclists also trained in Malaysia for one month recently.

Fourteen Lao taekwondo fighters have been training in South Korea since June and are expected back in November, while six wrestlers are training in Mongolia from April to September.

Eighteen karatedo fighters and their trainers have arrived back in Vientiane after training in Vietnam recently.

Sixteen judo fighters and trainers are training in Vietnam from August until November.

Some members of the Lao boxing team are in Milan , Italy from August to September. The boxers will fight in the World Championships in Milan before returning to Laos .

Twenty Lao shuttle cock players are training in Vietnam from August to October.

Currently, four Thai trainers are training the Lao athletics team for the track and field events at the games.

The men's football squad is under the guidance of an Austrian coach.

After returning from the training camps in other countries, the athletes will continue their training in camps in Vientiane .

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Two professional volleyball coaches from China are helping the Lao men's and women's volleyball and beach volleyball teams to prepare for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane in December.

The coaches, Mr Yin Ming and Mrs Qin Wensui, are former Chinese national volleyball representatives and have both coached popular clubs in China .

Mr Yin, who works for the Beijing City Sports Office, arrived in Vientiane last week and will train the men's and women's volleyball teams.

Mrs Qin comes from the Beijing City Club and arrived in Vientiane last month to train the men's and women's beach volleyball teams.

Secretary of the Lao Volleyball Federation, Mr Sychan Chitpanya, said the federation received assistant from the Chinese government to support the teams in their preparation for the games.

The coaches will lead the teams until after the games. This is the first time the Lao national teams have been trained by a foreign coach.

The teams will find it challenging to win a medal at the games as they lack experience at the international level and have not had a regular training programme in the past. Mrs Qin is currently training the men's and women's beach volleyball teams at the Sports Training Centre in Sikeuth district.

The volleyball teams have been training at the Nongtha village indoor courts in Chanthabouly district since March.

When the indoor stadium at Dongsanghin village in Xaythany district (Km16) is finished in October the volleyball teams will begin training there.

There are presently 15 men and 15 women players training with the squad, but the federation will select two final squads of 12 players each to compete at the games.

The teams will travel to Vietnam and Thailand for training in July and August, when they will also compete in friendly matches against those countries.

At a friendly tournament in Phnom Penh , Cambodia , last week, the women's beach volleyball team was defeated 2-0 in each of their matches against Cambodia and Vietnam .

Players in all the squads come from the Vientiane , Xieng Khuang, Borikhamxay, Savannakhet and Champassak provincial teams as well as the Ministry of National Defence team. They were selected after the eighth National Games held in Champassak province last December.


By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Vietnam's aquatic sports association sends coaches to Laos

HANOI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Aquatic Sports Association will send experts to train Lao swimmers for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Wednesday.

Swimming coach Nguyen Manh Tuan, who competed at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, said he would help Lao athletes to sharpen their skills.

The SEA Games is expected to take place next December. The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has agreed to finance 100,000 U.S. dollars for the SEA Games opening ceremony.

Despite disappointing results at last year's SEA Games in Thailand , Russian coach Valeri Vdovin has agreed to manage the under-23 national football team once more, according to the Lao Football Federation yesterday.

This is the third time that Mr Vdovin has managed the U-23 team's appearances in the Southeast Asian Games.

He first led the U-23 squad to the SEA Games in 2005 in the Philippines , and then to the games last year in Thailand . Unfortunately, the team was knocked out in the first round on both occasions.

The President of the Lao Football Federation, Mr Kasem Inthara, told the Vientiane Times yesterday “The federation and the National Sports Committee have decided to recall Russian coach Vdovin to Laos , even though he has so far failed to get the team past the first round at the SEA Games.”

“Mr Vdovin has confirmed he will arrive in Vientiane by the beginning of April and will then start to train the players. His contract with the Lao Football Federation will run until the end of the 2009 SEA Games.”

“He will not only lead the U-23 team in the SEA Games, but will also coach the senior national team for the Challenge Cup which is organised by the Asian Football Confederation in May in Kyrgyzstan . Another big event is the qualifying round of this year's Asean Cup in October in Cambodia ,” Mr Kasem said.

In the 2005 SEA Games, Laos beat Myanmar 3-2 and lost 2-8 to Vietnam , 0-1 to Singapore and 0-4 to Indonesia .

In the 2007 SEA Games, the U-23 squad's victory hopes were again squashed in the first round after a goalless draw against Singapore followed by losses of 0-4 to Malaysia and 1-2 to Vietnam .

By Sisay Vilaysack
vientianetimes