The SEA Games open in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Thursday after a six-month Covid delay with Southeast Asian pleasure at stake in the whole lot from soccer to bodybuilding and eSports.
More than 5,000 athletes which include Olympic champions are vying for over 500 gold medals in the occasion, which is staged each two years, in what have to be packed arenas.
The 11-state Games consist of conventional Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming and boxing, however additionally local ones like sepak takraw, an attention grabbing volleyball-style sport wherein groups kick a rattan ball.
Thailand’s taekwondo world number one Panipak Wongpattanakit and Philippine weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who both received gold at closing 12 months’s Tokyo Olympics, are some of the top athletes on display.
Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won the town-country’s ancient first Olympic gold in 2016, is juggling country wide navy service lower back domestic with collaborating and hopes to regain his scintillating beyond form.
Host countries normally include sports activities in which they carry out nicely, helping them clinch severa golds but main to grievance that it detracts from the status of the opposition.
However, with 40 sports on this version, down from 56 in Manila in 2019, Vietnam insists it’s miles in search of a “truthful Games” with little area for neighborhood sports.
“The hosts will ought to combat as difficult as different teams to earn golds towards powerhouses, specially Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Games establishing committee deputy head Tran Duc Phan said on country-owned Vietnam News.
Organisers have although nevertheless brought some local flavour.
This 31st edition of the local surprising might be the first to feature xiangqi, additionally referred to as Chinese chess, that’s wildly famous within the host us of a.
These Games may even see the go back of Vietnamese martial art vovinam.
Events retained from 2019 encompass eSports, dancesport – a competitive form of ballroom dancing – and the ancient Uzbek wrestling art of kurash.
The commencing ceremony is on Thursday but a few competitions have already started, with Malaysia prevailing the primary gold whilst diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri triumphed inside the ladies’s one-metre springboard.
These Games were at the beginning scheduled to take vicinity in November but had been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With infections falling closely on account that a peak of extra than 2 hundred,000 a day in March, spectators in venues – they do no longer even must take a Covid take a look at – could be a assessment to remaining yr’s basically fan-free Tokyo Olympics.
Only closing week the 2022 Asian Games have been postponed because of the virus. The multisport, Olympic-sized showpiece were scheduled to take location within the Chinese town of Hangzhou in September.
The SEA Games are concentrated on Hanoi with action also taking region in 11 close by northern provinces.
It is the second one time that Vietnam has hosted the Games – the 2003 edition became hosted by using Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – and a few 2,000 banners had been placed round Hanoi for Thursday’s beginning ceremony in My Dinh Stadium.
Local media said that thousands of human beings queued up overnight to snap up tickets for soccer matches providing the Vietnam team.
Some locals view the Games as a signal that lifestyles is returning to regular.
“We have long gone thru a massive Covid pandemic,” stated 25-12 months-old Hanoi resident Nguyen Bich Ngoc.
“Our government has spent plenty of efforts to organise this SEA Games for our united states and Southeast Asia.”Thursday night time soccer was a Thursday night beatdown this week, because the Chicago Bears gained their 2d preseason game of the exhibition season 27-11 over the Seattle Seahawks. Bears 2d-year quarterback Justin Fields played simply one drive, however it’s all Chicago virtually wished. A 14-0 2nd-region run prolonged the Bears’ result in 17 by using halftime, and the deficit was too much for Seattle’s reserves to conquer.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock changed into meant to start this matchup over Geno Smith as the two maintain their function struggle, however the former Denver Bronco got here down with COVID-19 this week, so Smith once more started out in his area.
Smith played the complete first half of, finishing 10 of 18 passes for 112 yards, and registered what turned into an up-and-down performance. Head coach Pete Carroll stated earlier than the sport that Smith would play into the 1/3 region, however the quarterback came out of the locker room after halftime with his right knee wrapped and Jacob Eason instead took over.
Chicago won in all three facets of the game. The offense changed into more constant, the protection did bend at instances, but did no longer ruin, and the special groups created several splash plays. Let’s take a look at what went down in Seattle Thursday night time.
