SEAG to open amid chaos

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The Southeast Asian Games officially open in Bangkok on Tuesday against a backdrop of chaotic organization and with fresh border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia threatening to overshadow the sporting showpiece.

The SEA Games run until 20 December in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi, with thousands of athletes from 11 southeast Asian countries competing in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding, sailing and combat sports.

They include world-class performers such as Olympic weightlifting gold medalists Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines and Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia, and Thailand’s badminton silver medalist Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Organizers have been criticized for some embarrassing stumbles even before the opening ceremony takes place at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday.

On the first day of sporting events last week, national anthems failed to play before a men’s football match between Vietnam and Laos, leaving the athletes and coaches singing without music.

The head of Thailand’s Sports Authority, a SEA Games organizer, blamed an audio system glitch and issued an apology, according to local media.

Thailand then played East Timor in a largely empty stadium after Thai football fans boycotted the match because of ticket rules requiring registration with ID and disquiet over their seating allocation.

Authorities said the registration is necessary because of security and it will continue.

Deadly flooding in the south of Thailand last month forced a late relocation of a dozen sports from hard-hit Songkhla province.

And Cambodia, involved in fresh border clashes with Thailand on Monday, last month withdrew about half of their athletes, citing safety concerns.

They pulled out of eight events including football, wrestling, judo, karate and petanque — the French-origin boules game in which Thailand tops the world rankings.

Despite criticism on social media and from sports fans, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who took office in September, defended his government’s efforts in staging the Games, noting the last-minute venue changes because of the flooding and fresh costs.

Sports Authority governor Gongsak Yodmani admitted in an interview with local media last week that a tight budget and the government transition had disrupted preparations.

“The opening ceremony might not be as grand, but it will be elegant and dignified,” he said.

Thailand is hosting the SEA Games, which take place every two years, for the first time since 2007. They were first held in Bangkok in 1959.

The SEA Games are known for inclusion of non-Olympic sports from the region such sepak takraw, foot volleyball played with a rattan ball and pencak silat, a martial art popular in Indonesia.

Controversy and tumult at the Games are nothing new.

The previous edition, held in Cambodia in 2023, ended in chaos when Indonesia beat Thailand in a men’s football final that featured seven goals, four red cards and two mass brawls.