Sri Lanka to compete at first SEA-Plus Youth Games

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka will take part in the inaugural SEA Plus Youth Games scheduled to be held in the Philippines from December 2 to 14, 2017, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC Sri Lanka) announced.

The new regional multi-sport event was officially unveiled in Manila on March 9 by Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Bambol Tolentino. The Philippines will host the first edition of the Games.

The SEA Plus Youth Games will feature young athletes from the 11 Southeast Asian nations along with invited Asian countries, creating a new platform aimed at developing emerging sporting talent in the region.

The participating Southeast Asian countries are expected to include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, along with host nation Philippines. The “Plus” category consists of Asian countries outside Southeast Asia that have received invitations to compete. These include Bahrain, Bhutan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Turkmenistan.

President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Suresh Subramaniam, confirmed that Sri Lanka had accepted the invitation to participate in the Games.

He said Sri Lanka received the opportunity due to the strong relationship between the Olympic committees and that the event would provide valuable exposure for the country’s young athletes.

The SEA Plus Youth Games are expected to serve as a developmental pathway for young athletes preparing for major international events such as the Asian Youth Games and the Youth Olympic Games.