What is Southeast Asian Games host up to?

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is losing the Southeast Asian Games battle a few months to the games proper in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino yesterday said bodybuilding has been dropped from the 2023 SEAG calendar while muay thai has been merged with Kun Khmer, a Cambodian national martial arts event.

The country has a chance to do well in both events especially in the latter where the Filipinos have consistently earned top honors – three in 2019 in Subic and two last year in Hanoi.

The International Federation of Muay Thai Associations (IFMA), however, has issued a warning it will stop teams from joining the biennial event since Cambodian organizers are using a different governing body not recognized by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

And that is not counting Cambodia’s earlier decision limiting participation by visiting countries in martial arts and other sports.

One example is karate where only a maximum of 10 of the 15 events can be participated in by all nations except the host, who can join all.

In canoe-kayak and esports, only seven can play out of the 10 events except the hosts.

“Kinakabahan ako dito because of the formula of Cambodia,” said Tolentino.

Still, the POC chief is hopeful of a fighting showing for Team Philippines.

But Tolentino is still clinging to hope that the Filipinos could replicate, if not exlipse, their fourth-place effort in last year’s Hanoi Games where they raked in 52 gold, 70 silver and 105 bronze medals.

“Based on their formula, di kayang mag-first ng Cambodia pero sasaksak sa itaas whether second, third, fourth,” he said. “Battle for fourth, pero tingnan natin with the promises of other sports.”