NAKHON RATCHASIMA – Laos officially announced yesterday that only 25 sports will be played in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games which it will be hosting for the first time.

Laos had earlier announced that one sport it was scrapping was basketball.

Also axed were chess, softball, dance sport, gymnastics, bodybuilding, cycling, equestrian, fencing, softball and all water sports.

The sports to be played are aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, bowling, boxing, football/futsal, golf, handball, judo, karate-do, muay, petanque, pencak silat, sepak takraw, shooting, shuttle ****, snooker and billiards, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, traditional boat race, volleyball/beach volleyball, wrestling and wushu.

25th SEA Games are tentatively set Dec. 13 to 21, 2009 in Vientiane, Dr. Phauthong Seng-Akhon, president of the Laos Olympic Committee, announced Friday.

Seng-Akhon announced that China will build a $ 46-million main stadium while Vietnam will construct a $ 6 million training facility for the athletes.

Laos will also build a hotel near the proposed main stadium to house some of the 2,500 athletes it expects.

This will mark the first time that Laos will host the biennial Games.

Vientiane will be the main hub with some events scattered in Luangprabang and Champasak.

Thailand has already appealed to Laos officials that if they can’t hold some of the events, it was willing to host them and play the sports near the Thai-Laotian border.

http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20071215111690.html