Myanmar Handling of SEA Games Roster Riles Fellow Countries

[Reashot Xigwin]

By THOMAS FULLER
Published: January 27, 2013

BANGKOK — It has been touted as a showcase for the new Myanmar, a regional sporting event in December that will celebrate the country’s embrace of democracy and the end of a hermetic and oppressive era.

But the Southeast Asian Games, which will be held in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, and other locations in the country, are causing acrimony even before any athletes compete.

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which are all participating in what are known as the SEA Games, have sent separate letters to Myanmar protesting the organizing of the games, according to Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapha, the president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand.

“These games are supposed to bring unity, but they are causing divisions instead,” Sasiprapha told the Thai media last week.

The main complaint is that Myanmar has stacked the competition with obscure sports that Myanmar’s athletes have a good chance of winning.

Charoen Wattanasin, the vice president of the Thai National Olympic Committee, said in an interview that the SEA Game regulations allowed for 8 traditional sports but that Myanmar had put 14 on the roster.

“Nine out of the 14 are martial arts,” he said, struggling to describe them. “They are — well, I can’t even remember their names.”

(One is called chinlone, a traditional Burmese game that mixes dancelike acrobatic movements with what might be described as soccer juggling skills. There is no opposing team, and competitors are scored in a manner similar to gymnastics.)

Myanmar has dropped tennis and table tennis from the games, despite the fact that both of those sports have been played in all SEA Games since the competition began in 1959. Gymnastics is out, as are badminton and the 4x100-meter relay, according to Thai and Philippine officials. The Singaporeans are lamenting the loss of water polo, which they do well in, and the Philippine Olympic committee has threatened to send a threadbare delegation if the roster is not changed. Malaysia and Indonesia, which have strong badminton traditions, are urging that the sport be reinstated.

The Nation, a Thai daily newspaper, reported Sunday that Myanmar had also dropped beach volleyball because “the sport’s outfits were not suitable for Myanmar culture.”

Myanmar circulated the roster of events to country representatives last week and for now is defending its selection.

“Every host country has the authority to decide which competitions should be included and excluded,” U Htay Aung, a director of the sports ministry in Myanmar, said in an interview Sunday.

Htay Aung said he recalled previous games in which Myanmar’s requests “were ignored.”

“There are always complaints at these games,” he said. “Myanmar will make the final decision.”

Myanmar will hear it from the 11 countries competing in the games at meetings in Naypyidaw on Monday and Tuesday to discuss preparations.

“If they continue to push through this proposal, it’s worthless to hold the games,” Charoen said.

Myanmar’s ability to organize the games smoothly will be closely watched by officials around the region, because in some ways it will be a test run for a much more ambitious project: Next year, Myanmar will hold the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a responsibility that involves playing host to countless regional meetings and dealing with thousands of visiting diplomats and journalists. It is a challenging task for a Myanmar government that is only now breaking from its inward-looking, military past and its history of antagonistic relations with the outside world.

Myanmar appears eager to reassure its neighbors that it is ready to play host to the games. U Naw Tawng, a Burmese official quoted on Myanmar’s official SEA Games Web site, predicted that the games would be “better” than those held in 2011 in Indonesia.

Myanmar has played host to the games twice in the past — in 1961 and 1969 — but this is the first time the games will be held in the country since the brutal suppression of the democracy movement, including the bloody crackdown in 1988.

The country is in the middle of a wrenching transition from military rule to democracy led by President Thein Sein, who heads the country’s first civilian government in five decades.

Poypiti Amatatham in Bangkok and Wai Moe in Yangon contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/sports/28iht-games28.html?_r=0

 

[nufix]

Now that's a bold move from Myanmar, but what the fuk? Badminton and several long lasted games are out? Do they think any of S.E.A countries practice their traditional martial-dancing art?

Web site, predicted that the games would be “better” than those held in 2011 in Indonesia.

Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/china-...ter-riles-fellow-countries.html#ixzz2JFbSqg46

Gotta admit, there were too many scandals that caused delays on preparation, especially in Palembang, the 2011 S.E.A Games was the worst S.E.A Games we ever held since the first time we hosted it in 1979. But since it was from Myanmar, well, their newest Stadium (and perhaps their best), the Zabuthiri Stadium is not even better than our Provincial level Stadium, let alone the National Stadium.

Zabuthiri (Zayyarthiri) National Stadium, Naypyidaw, Myanmar
Max Capacity 40.000, seats 32.000

University of Riau Stadium (Riau Main Stadium), Riau Province, Indonesia Max Capacity 120.000, seats 40.000 - 43.000.

No offense, but that reflects to other facilities too Otherwise, I hope for the best for Myanmar and may the prediction about being better will be realized, it is good for SEA games participants to enjoy good facilities during the competition.