As it’s happening just one month from now, everybody is getting ready for the 32nd South-East Asian Games held in the wonderful city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is 2023’s edition of the SEA Games, a year after the huge success of the 31st South-East Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. These games present interesting challenges and opportunities for Vietnamese athletes and audiences alike.
The main difference between the 32nd Southeast Asian Games and its predecessor is the number of sports; it has decreased from 40 sports to 37. In addition, Cambodia (the host nation) has removed some Olympic Sports from the program, whilst adding their unique cultural sports of Cambodian Chess and Kun bokator. The sports that have been removed are Archery, Shooting, Canoeing, Rowing, Futsal and Kurash. This is a huge disadvantage for Vietnamese athletes who are strong in these sports. For example, successful Vietnamese archer Đỗ Thị Ánh Nguyệt will not be competing, as her sport has been removed. The key factor behind these sports’ removal is that the host nation has not fully prepared the facilities to serve these sports.
This edition of the SEA Games is the current best goal for Vietnamese sports stars, and helps gauge whether or not they are able to achieve success in the later 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou and the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. However, the 32nd SEA Games is seeming less welcoming, as they have created a lot of controversy from adding new, strange cultural sport to the competition program.
Despite the challenges for the Vietnamese contestants, this edition of the SEA Games presents exciting new opportunities for viewers in Vietnam. In the past, Cambodia has put a high fee on broadcasting rights to sports events. However, on the 31st March 2023, the Prime Minister of Cambodia removed all fees on broadcasting rights for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games. This gave all Vietnamese sports fans the chance to watch the SEA Games 32 on their TV. The official broadcaster of the games in Vietnamese is VTVCab; it will be broadcasted on every channel of VTVCab On Sports Ecosystems. However, the host nation decided that only 16 out of 36 sports would be broadcasted on TV.
Nevertheless, the wide-spread viewing access to these games in Vietnam will be a great morale boost and advantage, and help them as they prepare for stronger, wider competition in the Asia games and the Paris Olympics. The 32nd South-East Asian Games will commence on the 5th of May and conclude on 17th May. After the SEA Games 32 conclude, the 12th ASEAN Para Games will then be held in the same city from the 3rd of June and come to a close on the 9th of June. This is a big milestone for Vietnamese athletes, as they compete for the first time in traditional sports like Kun bokator. Their goal is to place at least 3rd on the total medal table. Let’s hope Vietnamese athletes will be able to achieve their goal in the SEA Games! Việt Nam cố lên, Việt Nam chiến thắng!
