SEAG roars off in blaze of fireworks

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – From the still waters of the Musi River, natives from the largest Buddhist kingdom of the world began their journey to welcome over 10,000 players from 10 countries, kicking off a night-long celebration under a roar of fireworks on the 11th hour of the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Close to 6,000 participants performed colossal dances as this former center of the kingdom of Sriwijaya traced its proud roots, chasing its dreams from the footsteps of a child, while two divas from Southeast Asia – the Philippines’ Agnes Monica KC Concepcion and Malaysia’s Jacklyn Victor – belted song numbers in the SEA Games’ celebration of youth. Dancers and singers performed  in a broadway presentation that lasted until 11 p.m., when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who flew in from Jakarta,   declared the Games open at the exact hour to complete the  sacred numbers – 11-11-11.

Former Indonesian Olympic champion Santi Susanto, lifting the light of Merapen, flew to the lip of the cauldron in a shaft of light – supported by a rope – to ignite the Sacred Urn  that will remain lit during the next 10 days.

The Prime Ministers of Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and the brother of the Crown Prince of Brunei graced the opening ceremonies highlighted with the parade of participating countries.

The Philippines, here with 700-strong contingent, was led in the marchpast by standard bearer Rey Saludar of boxing.

The Games start today with hostilities in over half of the 44 sports disciplines.

Thailand and Indonesia, the main rivals for overall supremacy, collected the first five gold medals staked during the day.

Thailand sailed away with three gold medals in kayaking, but Indonesia took two in canoeing as it opened its campaign for a 150-gold medal haul and the overall championship in the biennial meet it is hosting for the third time.

Alex Generalo was fifth in a field of six in the 1,000m at the Cipule Lake in West Java. Dany Funelas was last among five competitors in canoeing.

In the next 11 days, 546 more gold medals will be contested in 51 disciplines. The Philippines has no entries in 42 events, a serious handicap in the medals race.

Filipinos are competing only  in 21 of the 43 gold medals in 16 sports today - nine here and seven in Jakarta and West Java.

 “This is it for us.  We cannot be less than perfect if we want to keep pace with the big boys,” said deputy chief of mission Romeo Magat, who is in charge of the Palembang campaign.

Over at Jakarta, deputy chief of mission Julian Camacho is shuttling to West Java and back to ensure that the needs of athletes from seven disciplines held there are covered.

“It has been tough but our athletes are in high spirits,” he said.

The most number of gold medals, 65, is offered on November 15 while 64 gold medals are at stake November 19.