Tickets for SEA Games’ Closing Ceremony Twelve-Fold on Black Market

MYANMAR UPDATED. Shortage of tickets for the closing ceremony of South-East Asian Games to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on December 22 has led a twelve-fold increase in ticket prices on the black market, sports fans told Eleven Media.

For local people, the official price of a normal ticket is Ks 3,000 (US$3) and a special ticket Ks 5,000 (US$5). However, each ticket is now priced between Ks 50,000 (US$50) and Ks 60,000 (US$60) on the black market.

SEA Games Highlights for Dec 21, 2013

Traditional Boat
Thailand finally broke through at traditional boat race on Saturday, winning gold in the men’s 20-crew 2000m race by 2 and a half seconds over silver medalists Myanmar.

The Thais finished the Nga Lite Dam course in 7 minutes, 32.275 seconds, Myanmar, which tried vainly in the last 250m to reel the roaring Thai boat in, ended in 7:34.705

Indonesia got bronze in 7:45.690.

Spectators Relatively Lessen in Present SEA Games

MYANMAR UPDATED. The number of spectators at the 27th SEA Games being hosted has taken a sharp drop after Myanmar Men’s Football Team has been eliminated from the group level after the last round of competition.
 
The Identification cards to enter the Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Nay Pyi Taw was being issued at No.4 Gate of the Stadium where much of the SEA Games sporting events were taken place. Before Myanmar Men’s Football Team was eliminated from competition, people were lining up to make the entrance card.

Myanmar Football Coach Axed After SEA Games Exit

MYANMAR UPDATED. MYANMAR Under-23 coach Park Sung-hwa has paid the price for failing to guide the team to the semi-finals of the SEA Games football competition.

He was sacked on Tuesday.

According to the local media, Myanmar Football Federation U Zaw Zaw fired the South Korean after the defeat.

The host nation were knocked out of the competition after losing to Indonesia 1-0 in their final Group B match on Monday. Alfin Ismail converted a penalty in the 35th minute to enable Indonesia to finish second and accompany group leaders Thailand into the last four.

Anger, Disappointment as Myanmar’s Men Go Down & Out at SEA Games Football

MYANMAR UPDATED. Myanmar’s U-23 footballers went down 1-0 to Indonesia at the SEA Games men’s football competition in Rangoon on Monday night, a result that sees the hosts out of the tournament.

Indonesia progressed to the semi-finals on the head-to-head rule, despite having an inferior goal difference to Myanmar’s men’s team, after both countries finished joint-second in their group, one point behind Thailand on seven points.

Myanmar Women Land Blows for Equality

MYANMAR UPDATED. Tough, stocky and packing a withering left hook, Myanmar's gold medal-winning boxer Nwe Ni Oo cuts a surprising image in a conservative nation where women are expected to be demure rather than combative.
 
But the 19-year-old won hearts with a teary-eyed podium celebration at the Southeast Asian Games in the capital Naypyidaw, after a bruising points victory over her Philippine rival in the 57 kilogramme class.

"It's very exciting because I have never fought foreigners before... I'm happy to fight in front of Myanmar fans too," she said after Saturday's win.

Could the SEA Games Revitalize Myanmar Sport?

MYANMAR. Yangon was once Southeast Asia’s aviation hub, pre-junta Myanmar had probably the region’s best education system, and the country’s living standards were as good as those of any of its neighbors. All that changed, however, after a 1962 coup. 

Gen Ne Win’s search for the “Burmese Way to Socialism” led to Myanmar’s rapid economic decline, leaving it a moth-eaten economic outlier where nowadays only a quarter of the population has electricity.

That fall from grace was also mirrored in the country’s sporting performance. In the 1960s, Myanmar topped the SEA Games medal table twice, and as late as 1979, it managed a third place on the medal-winners ranking. 

Thais Surge Ahead of Myanmar in Medals Ahead of Football Game

MYANMAR UPDATED. Thailand surged ahead of Myanmar in the SEA Games 2013 medals standings today just before the two countries met in a huge men’s football match on Saturday night.
 
Myanmar has led the medal tally since the beginning of the competition, but Thailand stormed ahead today and is in first place at the moment with a total of 33 golds, compared to second-place Myanmar’s 31. Indonesia is third with 30 and Vietnam fourth with 29.

Myanmar & Thailand Draw 1-1 Men’s Football SEA Games

MYANMAR UPDATED. Host Myanmar and Thailand played to a 1-1 draw in a crucial Group B men’s football match at the SEA Games 2013 on Saturday night before a huge crowd at Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon.

Myanmar scored first, taking the lead in the 33rd minute on a back header from Nay Lin Tun on a freekick, and sending the home fans into a frenzy.

SEA Games Medal Tally Desember 14, 2013 at 21:30

This afternoon, Indonesian contingent began pursuit of Myanmar in SEA Games medal in 2013. Having dropped one rank to third on Saturday (14/12) morning, at 1:10 pm in Myanmar, Indonesia has been able to move back to Vietnam in both board positions standings with 24 gold, 30 silver and 20 bronze.

Indonesia has a difference of 3 gold from Myanmar are currently still at the top of the standings with 27 gold , 26 silver and 22 bronze. 

However at the end of the game today, Thailand has been able to achieve 33 gold medals, and slid to the top of the rankings outperform the host, Myanmar.  

Here is the list of medal tally :

Malaysia Women's Hockey Squad Thrash Myanmar

MALAYSIA UPDATED. The national women's hockey squad began their hunt for gold at the Myanmar SEA Games in style when they thrashed hosts Myanmar 6-0 at the Theinphyu Hockey Stadium here, Friday.
 
In the first half, the two sides had a fair exchange of attacks until Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed netted the first goal through a penalty corner in the 27th minute.

Transport Woes at Myanmar SEA Games

COOL AIR was blowing against my face as I held on tightly to the motorbike rider on the streets of Naypyitaw. Once in a while, my “driver”, coolly riding in his faded sarong, would spit out his red betel juice.

(It is common for men to wear their sarong for daily use and also as official wear. And it is also common for them to chew on the betel leaf.)

Kudos to Myanmar for Impressive Stadiums

MYANMAR is hosting the 27th edition of the SEA Games after a lapse of 44 years with the slogan “Green, Clean and Friendship”.

The Games are being held in two cities – Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, and Naypyitaw, the new government administration centre.

Naypyitaw, which is 391km north of Yangon, is surrounded by greenery and the people here are really friendly.

Myanmar Media Complain SEA Games Access Is Restricted

MYANMAR UPDATED. As the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) got underway this week, local Burmese media groups say access to events has been restricted, limiting their ability to cover the landmark sporting event.
 
Although the opening ceremony is not until Dec. 11, some SEA Games events began in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. It is Burma’s first time hosting the regional games, and the occasion offers the country a chance to show that it can successfully organize international events, ahead of its debut chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2014.

Even the Rain Won’t Dampen Naypyidaw’s Moment in The Sun

MYANMAR UPDATED. Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said there is an 80 percent chance of showers in Naypyidaw and the surrounding region on 11 December due to the rainstorms coming in from Cyclone Madi in the Bay of Bengal.

But SEA Games organisers say this won’t dampen spirits as the Burmese capital prepares the final touches ahead of the opening ceremony of the games at 4pm local time on Wednesday.

Timing of SEA Games Opening Seen as Auspicious by Some

MYANMAR UPDATED. On Wednesday, the 27th Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony will be held in the gleaming new Wunna Theikdi Stadium in the capital Naypyidaw.
 
The grand event will offer Myanmar an opportunity to burnish its new image as a quickly-changing country and the ceremony has been meticulously planned, with the vice-president ordering the use of back-up generators to ensure that Myanmar’s chronic blackouts will not disturb the spectacle.

Myanmar Spares No Expense for SEA Games Opening

MYANMAR UPDATED. Myanmar laid on a spare-no-expenses opening ceremony for the Southeast Asian Games on Wednesday, part of efforts by the government to convince the world it's open for business following a half-century of brutal military rule and isolation.

The four-hour extravaganza, complete with parades, fireworks, singers, dancers and a sound-and-light show, was held to loud cheers and bursts of applause in a packed 30,000-seat stadium.

Even the Rain Won’t Dampen Naypyidaw’s Moment in The Sun

MYANMAR UPDATED. Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said there is an 80 percent chance of showers in Naypyidaw and the surrounding region on 11 December due to the rainstorms coming in from Cyclone Madi in the Bay of Bengal.

But SEA Games organisers say this won’t dampen spirits as the Burmese capital prepares the final touches ahead of the opening ceremony of the games at 4pm local time on Wednesday.

Timing of SEA Games Opening Seen as Auspicious by Some

MYANMAR UPDATED. On Wednesday, the 27th Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony will be held in the gleaming new Wunna Theikdi Stadium in the capital Naypyidaw.
 
The grand event will offer Myanmar an opportunity to burnish its new image as a quickly-changing country and the ceremony has been meticulously planned, with the vice-president ordering the use of back-up generators to ensure that Myanmar’s chronic blackouts will not disturb the spectacle.

Myanmar Aims to Dazzle with Games Opening Ceremony

MYANMAR UPDATED. Final preparations were underway Wednesday for the opening ceremony of the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar, with organisers hoping the glitzy Chinese-assisted event will thrust the once reclusive country onto the world stage.

China, which capped its own international re-emergence with the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has offered nearly $33 million in technical assistance including for the opening and closing ceremonies, presidential spokesman Ye Htut said.