AABOT sa 656 athletes mula 39 national sports associations ang inaasahan ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) na lalahok sa darating na 31st Southeast Asian Games sa Hanoi, Vietnam sa May 12-23

Ipinahayag ni POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino na ang bansa ay sasali sa 39 out of 40 sports na hinanda ng Vietnam, na magsisilbing host sa ika-dalawang pagkakataon simula nung 2003

“Comparing the numbers when we hosted the Games in 2019, we’ll have a delegation that’s slashed almost in half from three years ago,” pahayag ni Tolentino sa isang press statement.

“And a quick look at the numbers show we’ll be hard-pressed to repeat as overall champions.”

Ipinaalala ni Tolentino na may kabuuang 1,115 Filipino athletes sa nakalipas na 2019 Manila SEA Games, na kung saan tinanghal ang Pilipinas na overall champion na may 149 golds, 117 silvers and 121 bronzes.

“But we’ll have a fighting team in Vietnam, setting aside the difficulties of training and competing or training overseas because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” paliwanag ni Tolentino

Sa 44 sports, tanging ang athletics, men’s 3×3 at 5×5 basketball, weightlifting and jiujitsu ang hindi pa nakakazsumite ng official lineup sa POC.

Ang deadline ng submission ng entries by names ay nakatakda sa March 12

“Several NSAs were allowed to submit tentative lists because they’re still completing their final qualifications or trials,” dugtong ni Tolentino.

Ang Pilipinas ay sasabak sa diving, swimming, finswimming, archery, athletics, badminton, 3×3 a 5×5 basketball, billiards and snooker, bodybuilding, bowling, boxing, canoe-kayak, chess, cycling, dancesports, esports, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics (artistic, aerobic at rhythmic), beach handball, judo, jiujitsu, karate, kickboxing, kurash, muaythai, pencak silat, rowing, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon/duathlon, volleyball, beach volleyball, vovinam, weightlifting, wrestling at wushu.

Ang tanging sport na hindi lalahukan ng Pilipinas ay xiangqi (Chinese or elephant chess).