By Leonard Lim
Sports Reporter
leonard1@sph.com.sg

 

THE Kampung Games - long-time observers of Singapore sport will immediately conjure up images of the South-east Asia Games when this is mentioned.

And with good reason. Host countries usually push for the inclusion of "traditional" sports they are strong in, like petanque (throwing small metal balls at a bigger wooden one), arnis (a martial arts event where competitors hit each other with rattan sticks) and shuttle-cock kicking (capteh).

These are not in the Asian, Commonwealth or Olympic Games calendar but so what?

The hosts are usually strong in such indigenous sports and it can only help boost their overall medal tally and vault them up the standings.

Who cares if others says it makes the Games a joke?

The "Kampung Games" moniker came to my mind once again when on Sunday, Malaysia's Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob suggested sending second-stringers to the 25th edition of the SEA Games in Laos in December.

This, after Laos decided to drop mainstream sports like tenpin bowling and squash - gold medal prospects for Malaysia - in favour of shuttle-cock kicking and fin swimming.

A ridiculous move that devalues the SEA Games, Datuk Ismail said, calling the Games a 'circus'.

True to a certain extent, for host countries have long pushed for the inclusion of such nonsensical events that masquerade as sports.

Still, the Games do hold some relevance, and in a sense beyond a sporting one.

First, it is a good training ground even for sports that countries have already reached Asian or world-class levels.

Singapore Sailing president Low Teo Ping, for instance, has no qualms about sending his "B" team to the SEA Games, given that the sport has churned out world and Asian champions in the past few years.

The SEA Games would help them get used to the pressures of a major meet, before they go on to higher-level events.

And for sports like athletics, Singapore is nowhere near the Asian level, so the SEA Games remains the high point for many athletes to aim for in their careers.

National 100m record holder Amanda Choo, for instance, was only seventh in the 2007 SEA Games final but set a new national mark in the competition.

The biennial Games is also a chance for Asean countries to come together and celebrate the spirit of sport and Asean solidarity.

That is why you will notice other Asean countries will close one eye and allow hosts to include a few eyebrow raising sports like fin swimming.

The SEA Games also allows athletes of such lesser-known sports a stage to showcase their skills to the region and increase awareness of what they are all about.

Say what you will, but the sight of swimmers wearing snorkel masks and fins and racing underwater makes for good entertainment, doesn't it?

So a circus it may be, but the Kampung Games is here to stay.