Manila, Philippines, March 1, 2022: The Philippine Olympic Committee is sending 656 athletes to the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi from May 12-23 with an eye on finishing in the top three nations, reports PhilStar Global.
POC President Abraham Tolentino said the delegation, which will compete in 44 events from 39 of the 40 sports in the biennial meet, is far fewer than the size of the delegation on home soil in 2019 - 1,115 - when the host nation emerged the overall champion with a historic haul of 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals.
“Comparing the numbers when we hosted the SEA Games in 2019, we’ll have a delegation that’s slashed almost in half from three years ago,” said Tolentino. “And a quick look at the numbers show we’ll be hard-pressed to repeat as overall champions.
“But we’ll have a fighting team in Vietnam, setting aside the difficulties of training and competing or training overseas because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.
The deadline for the submission of entry by name is March 12 and Tolentino said the POC is still waiting to confirm the final list from the National Sports Associations.
The estimated size of the total delegation is 874. This figure includes team officials, coaches, administrative staff and medical officers as well as the 656 athletes.
The Hanoi SEA Games were due to be held in 2021 but were postponed one year. The 2023 SEA Games will take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the first time since the 11-nation regional sports fest began in 1959.