SEA GAMES: INDONESIA STILL UNCERTAIN ON NUMBER OF EVENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Although the SEA Games Federation (SGF) at its Bali meeting last week decided to offer 42 sports and 545 events for the 26th SEA Games in November, host Indonesia might reduce the number due totechnical reasons.

Indonesian SEA Games Organising Committee (Inasoc) secretary Abdul Rauf was quoted by the Jakarta Post Friday that the 545 events were not final and would be reduced automatically because of the four-country quota.

"An event with less than four participants will be dropped," he said, adding that the final number of events would be determined during the proper Games.

"If four athletes are listed in an event and one of them fails to come during the competition, the organiser cannot continue the match," he said.

Meanwhile, despite facing complaints, co-host Palembang is determined to complete the games infrastructure including the athlete's village before the July deadline.

The organising committe in Jakarta, on the other hand, will place the athletes competing in venues at the Indonesian capital city, in a hotel.


Abdul Rauf also pledged to provide athletes with a decent place to live during the Games.

"Maybe it won't be something fancy, like a five-star hotel room, but it will be suitable," he said.

Representatives of the 11 participating countries are scheduled to visit Palembang in July to inspect progress on the venues there.