SEA Games 33 has begun, but it seems that host Thailand is not ready yet.

TPO - The 33rd SEA Games, the most anticipated event in Southeast Asia, began today. However, there are still too many problems in the operation, causing people to question the readiness of host Thailand.

Today (December 3), the 33rd SEA Games kicked off with men's football and polo. However, despite the announcement that host Thailand was 100% ready, problems kept arising.

First, as is known, in the graphics introducing the competition schedule, the Thai flag was printed incorrectly as the flag... Vietnam and the name Indonesia was also printed as the flag of Laos. Furthermore, the official website of the games still shows the old schedule even though the time has been adjusted a lot, in addition to many items that are not accessible. In addition, booking tickets for sports events at the stadium is still not available through the online system, especially for events taking place before the opening ceremony.

The 33rd SEA Games have begun, but the official press passes for media agencies have not yet been issued. Instead of being sent to the Olympic Committees of the countries in advance, reporters were forced to receive them in Thailand. When they arrived, they still did not have the passes. The host country put out the fire by issuing day passes to enter the Press Center and register and receive additional passes outside Rajamangla Stadium when covering the men's football matches taking place today.

The SEA Games 33 press pass has not been issued yet.

In a recent statement, Dr. Kongsak Yodmanee - Director of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) said that he would impress the 10 sports delegations participating in the 33rd SEA Games from the moment they all set foot at the airport, and committed to setting up a separate lane to serve the event, and buses to transport the sports delegations will be arranged with police escorts to move quickly and safely.

However, the U22 Vietnam team's bus got stuck in a heavy traffic jam in Bangkok, causing coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to arrive late for the press conference, and then only have 40 minutes to practice.

On Tuesday (December 2), the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee was accused of unfair treatment. Rueangrit Santisuk, the photography and lighting director hired to design the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and his colleagues worked hard for 7 months on a limited budget, only to be abruptly told to stop working in October without receiving any payment.

Installation work at Rajamangla Stadium is underway.

Regarding financial issues, many Thai athletes have continuously posted questions about when they will receive their stipends for the 33rd SEA Games. Among the athletes, including Mongkutphet Phetpraofa, the Muay Thai star who is one of the representatives of the 33rd SEA Games. The promises were never fulfilled and for more than three months, the stipends have not reached the athletes.

According to Dailynews (Thailand), the 33rd SEA Games should have been a less complicated event in terms of organization, due to the readiness of the facilities as well as the experience of the Golden Temple country in organizing major events, but problems arose even before the start. Therefore, the host country's desire to "impress" friends in the region is becoming something far-fetched.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/sea-games-33-da-khoi-tranh-nhung-co-ve-chu-nha-thai-lan-van-chua-san-sang-post1801446.tpo