The City of Palembang in South Sumatra will be the main hub of the coming 26th Southeast Asian Games set November 11-25 in Indonesia.
While Jakarta in sharing the hosting of this year’s Games, it is in Palembang, a one-hour plane ride from the Indonesian capital that earned the distinction of staging medal-rich and must sports athletics and aquatics.
Julian Camacho, secretary general of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines and a member of a four-man Philippine Olympic Committee delegation that attended the SEA Games Federation meeting held last month in Bali, disclosed during yesterday’s SCOOP Session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura that the two host cities will be sharing equally the 48 sports to be contested with each getting 24.
Football though will be played in both cities with the championship game to be held, also in Palembang, a scenic, tourist haven that can be reached in a two-hour plane ride from Jakarta.
“The opening and closing ceremonies are also scheduled at the spanking Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang,” Camacho, who is also the POC treasurer, said in the forum sponsored by Coca Cola Bottler, TV-5, Mang Inasal and FILA.
“The reason for this, maybe is because the host country is promoting more the city of Palembang as the newest tourism sand business destination in Indonesia,” Camacho said by way of answering a query from Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippine members.
Also scheduled in Palembang, besides athletics and aquatics (swimming diving, synchronized swimming. water polo, open water swimming and fin swimming), are baseball, boxing, gymnastics, petanque, roller skating, sepak takraw, shooting, softball, tennis and soft tennis, beach volleyball, wall climbing, waster skiing, cue sports, bridge, chess, indoor volleyball and weightlifting.
Sports scheduled to be played in Jakarta are archery, badminton, karate, wushu, basketball, judo, bowling, cycling (road, BMX, MTB and track), sailing, canoeing and kayaking, rowing, traditional boat race, equestrian, fencing, futsal, golf, paragliding, pencat silat, kenpo, table tennis and vovinam.
“With 544 disciplines to be disputed in 48 sports, this year’s SEA Games will be the biggest in the history of the quadrennial meet,” Camacho remarked.
With the inclusion of fin swimming and open water event in addition to regular disciplines swimming, diving and water polo, aquatics emerged as the most medal-rich sport with 57 medals at stake, 11 more than centerpiece athletics.
“Cordiality marked the Bali meeting as everybody went home happy after the wheeling and dealing that took place,” Camacho said. “While the body approved almost all the proposals of Indonesia, pinagbigyan din yung ibang request ng other countries.”
The Philippines, for instance, according to Camacho, emerged the gainer in billiards and taekwondo, as the POC group, which also included POC chair Monico Puentevella, first vice president Manny Lopez and secretary general Steve Hontiveros, succeeded in having their proposals approved.
“The 10-ball event in both men and women divisions in billiards where we are not that strong had been scrapped, while the 8-ball and 9-ball where we are the world champions had been retained,” Camacho cited.
“Only six men and six women are allowed to be fielded by each country in taekwondo, which has 21 events. Poomsae, which we are also world-class was also approved with each country allowed to enter a three-jin men and women teams,” he added.
source: philboxing.com
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