MALAYSIA will make an official request to the Laos Sea Games organisers to retain several Olympic sports which have been dropped from next year's edition.

Laos, hosting the Games for the first time, reduced the number of sports from 43 to 22 and among the Olympic events missing are archery, basketball, cycling, gymnastics, hockey and weightlifting.

Sports Minister, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said that the Sea Games being the stage which athletes with potential use in their quest to reach Olympic heights, makes it essential to include regular Olympic sports.

"The Sea Games is a stepping stone for our young athletes, so it is important that Olympic events be contested in Laos," said Ismail Sabri at the ministry's Hari Raya open house at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

"Sports like archery, basketball, cycling, gymnastics, hockey and weightlifting are not being considered but instead we see more regional events being included by the hosts for the sake of winning gold. This time even shuttlecock juggling has been included.
"We will make an official request to the Laos Sea Games organisers through the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to include several Olympic sports."

The 22 sports confirmed for Laos are athletics, aquatics (diving and swimming), badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, football, golf, judo, karate, muay thai, petanque, sepak takraw, shooting, silat, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and wushu, which were all held in Korat, and fin swimming and shuttlecock juggling, which were part of the 2003 Vietnam Sea Games.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri confirmed that Malaysia will provide technical expertise and coaches to Laos after a request was made by the Sea Games hosts last month.

The National Sports Council (NSC) will provide officials and coaches while a group of Laotian officials will undergo a six-month training stint at NSC soon.