SEA Games lost a world- class star because of Thailand's strange regulations - Photo: REUTERS
From Yulo's story
A series of incidents, mistakes, and scandals have occurred continuously in recent days, pushing Thailand's SEA Games organization into chaos.
But that's not all. However, fans can still sympathize with the difficulties that Thailand has faced at the 33rd SEA Games. Specifically, it comes when this country has been continuously affected by objective factors in recent times.
But there are things that are incomprehensible, and can only be explained by the familiar "village" nature of the SEA Games. One of them is the irony of gymnastics.
A few days ago, the Philippines officially announced the list of athletes participating in the 33rd SEA Games. And the absence of gymnastics star Carlos Yulo was a big disappointment.
It is a sadness for the entire regional sports community, not just the Philippines. That is because Carlos Yulo is one of the most outstanding Southeast Asian athletes of all time. He won 2 Olympic gold medals and 3 world championship gold medals.
But then at the 33rd SEA Games, Yulo was "tied hands and feet" by the host Thailand because of extremely confusing regulations. Specifically, the gymnastics event at the 33rd SEA Games only allows each athlete to participate in a maximum of 1 individual event final.
So if he participates, this world-class star will only win a maximum of 1 gold medal. And in addition, there is the team event (the Philippines team is not strong).
At the 31st SEA Games hosted by Vietnam, Yulo won 5 individual gold medals - without any constraints. Even at the 32nd SEA Games, when the host Cambodia also received a lot of criticism, Yulo also registered to participate in 2 individual events and won gold medals.
So what made Thailand come up with such an odd rule? A rare and unprecedented constraint in regional sporting events.
The answer can only be "achievement disease". At the 32nd SEA Games, Thailand won 2 silver medals in the men's individual gymnastics events. And once they "tied down" Yulo, their chances of winning gold increased significantly.
Of course, a world-class superstar like Yulo should not waste time just for 1 SEA Games gold medal. Yulo agreed with the national federation to skip the 33rd SEA Games to focus on plans in 2026.
Strange rules that benefit homeowners
A similar story, following a different scenario, appeared in chess, when Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem also withdrew from SEA Games 33 due to the host's constraints.
Thailand hosted 3 chess events at the 33rd SEA Games, but only 8 in total. 4 of them were their traditional game maruk, 2 were Asean chess, and only 2 were chess.
Not only that, the 2 contents of chess are men's/women's rapid doubles. Doubles means 2 players play on the same team, will take turns to move each move and cannot exchange.
Le Quang Liem is the only Vietnamese athlete to reach world class in mass sports - Photo: FIDE
In a genre that is so "lucky" that it is difficult for stars like Le Quang Liem, or even "chess kings", to prove their class. It is understandable that Vietnamese players, who are usually in the top 20 in the world, skipped the SEA Games.
Another sport that Vietnam suffered a loss of players due to the host country's change was basketball, when Thailand banned naturalized athletes from participating in the 5x5 event.
The naturalization issue has been controversial over the years, and many people may welcome the ban. But the problem is that Thailand has been inconsistent.
Vietnamese basketball loses naturalized stars in 5x5 event - Photo: NK
Initially, the host country issued a "passport" regulation to facilitate the entire naturalization trend of the region. That is, athletes only need to have a passport of a country to be able to compete for that country.
But then Thailand suddenly created a barrier in basketball - a sport that many Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam have naturalized, while Thailand has not.
The SEA Games have long been known for tricks and detailed rules to increase the host country's chances of winning a gold medal.
But it is unfortunate that Thailand - the big brother of the regional sports scene, possessing many world-class stars in various sports, and having expressed many times the ambition to reach Olympic level - has fallen into this achievement disease.
And it is even more regrettable that this very achievement disease has caused the SEA Games to lose world-class superstars - who are not many in the "lowland" of Southeast Asia.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mo-olympic-nhung-thai-lan-van-chua-thoat-benh-thanh-tich-sea-games-20251204215303809.htm
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