HANOI — Thousands of competitors are
gathering in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi for the 31st SEA Games after
COVID-19
postponed the event for six months.
اضافة اعلان
AFP Sport looks at five athletes who could steal the
show when the Games begin on Thursday.
Panipak
Wongpattanakit (Thailand)
The world number one in
women’s taekwondo in the 49kg category, Panipak was Thailand’s only gold
medalist at last summer’s
Tokyo Olympics and is also a two-time world champion.
Called “Tennis” by her parents, who gave their
children nicknames to kindle an interest in sport, she instead excelled at the
Korean martial art.
A favorite among Thai sports fans, the 24-year-old
was hospitalized for COVID-19 in early April but is still expected to lead the
way for her country in Hanoi.
Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines)
Weightlifter Diaz made
history by winning the women’s 55kg class in Tokyo, a first Games gold for the
Philippines in the country’s nearly 100 years of Olympic competition.
Stranded for nearly 18 months in
Malaysia during the
pandemic, the 31-year-old had to train in a makeshift rural village gym before
setting the Tokyo Games alight.
A staff sergeant in the Philippine Air Force, she
became an instant national hero.
Known to celebrate by tucking into cheesecake and
bubble tea.
Joseph Schooling (Singapore)
Singapore swimmer
Joseph Schooling became a household name after winning
the 100m butterfly at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Still Singapore’s only gold in its
Games history.
The 26-year-old has claimed over two dozen golds at
the SEA Games, along with three
Asian Games golds.
A bumpy 2021 saw him fail to defend his title in
Tokyo and did not even make it out of the heats.
That and
mandatory national conscription has left a question mark over where his career
is headed.
Ernest John Obiena (Philippines)
Pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena is one of the
region’s top stars in athletics.
The 26-year-old set an Asian record when he cleared
5.93m at a contest last year.
He is also the SEA Games defending champion and will
be the
Philippines’ flag-bearer in the Vietnamese capital.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he took up the
sport at the age of eight. Ranked the seventh best men’s pole vaulter in the
world.
Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Malaysia)
Diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri is
one of Malaysia’s top hopes for glory in Hanoi and has already won one gold at
these SEA Games when she triumphed in the one-meter springboard on Sunday.
The 22-year-old has taken home a gold medal at every
SEA Games since the 2013 Naypyidaw contest.
Standing a mere 1.53m (five feet), she made her
Olympics debut in 2016 and finished fifth in the synchronized 3m springboard
alongside Cheong Jun Hoong.
In Tokyo Sabri narrowly missed the bronze in the individual
3m springboard and instead had to settle for an agonizing fourth place.
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