MANILA – With the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to 2021, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is looking to propose to Vietnam the holding of the 2021 Southeast Asian Games just before Christmas.
POC president Bambol Tolentino said he would plead to the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) to make the adjustment as some of the Philippines’ athletes are qualified to the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Not only for the Philippines, Tolentino said, the adjustment will allow Southeast Asian countries to have enough time to transition from the Tokyo Olympics to the SEA Games.
“We will recommend that Vietnam hosts the 31st SEA Games during the latter part of the year just like ours,” Tolentino said in a statement.
The VOC has tentatively set the biennial games from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, barring the schedule of the sports that will begin before the formal opening.
“If ever, we will support the dates,” Tolentino said. “Those dates provide enough window from Tokyo, which could be in the July-August period.”
The VOC is reportedly scheduled to meet the national Olympic committees of other Southeast Asian countries on May 20 and 21 in Hanoi to officially present how the SEA Games will take place or if it will still push through considering the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Aside from defending overall champions Philippines and Vietnam, other SEA Games members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste./PN
