2003 Southeast Asian Games

22nd Southeast Asian Games
Teams participating	11
Athletes participating	over 5000
Events	42 sports
Opening ceremony	December 5, 2003
Closing ceremony	December 13, 2003
Officially opened by	Phan Van Khai Vietnamese Prime Minister
Athlete's Oath	Nguyễn Mạnh Tường
Ceremony venue	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi

The 22nd Southeast Asian Games were held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 5 December - 13 December 2003. The games were opened by Vietnamese prime minister Phan Van Khai in the newly constructed My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi. The games torch was lit by Nguyen Thuy Hien of Wushu. It was the first time in SEA Games history that the game venues were assigned into two cities namely Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.Timor-Leste (used name United Nations East Timor) have the first time played in Southeast Asian Games.

Medal table

      Host nation

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Vietnam	158	97	91	346
2	Thailand	89	93	98	280
3	Indonesia	56	68	98	222
4	Philippines	49	55	75	179
5	Malaysia	43	42	59	144
6	Singapore	30	33	50	113
7	Myanmar	16	43	50	109
8	Laos	1	5	15	21
9	Cambodia	1	5	11	17
10	Brunei	1	1	8	10
11	Timor-Leste	0	0	0	0
Total		444	442	555	1441

Logo and Hymn

Trau Vang, a golden buffalo is the official mascot of the games.

Painter Nguyen Chi Long inspired by the 22nd SEA Games logo is based on a legendary bird named "Chim Lac". The bird decorated the Ngoc Lu bronze drum, a typical antiquity of the ancient Dong Son Vietnamese culture. The Emblem is composed of harmonious and vigorous curves, creating a feeling of movement and strength which conforms to the Olympic Spirit: "Faster, Higher and Stronger". The colorful whirls represent the tough competitiveness in sports.

The 10 intersecting circles, the symbol of the South East Asian Sport Federation, are to emphasize the solidarity, friendship and nobility, which are highly esteemed by Vietnam - the host country of the 22nd SEA Games.

The games' hymn was "For the World of Tomorrow". It was composed by Nguyen Quang Vinh.

Mascot

Painter Nguyen Thai Hung choose Trâu Vàng, the golden water buffalo as the mascot for the 22nd SEA Games. With a gentle and harmonious nature, the clever Buffalo has become synonymous with the water and rice cilivization that is so important in Vietnam, as well as in other Southeast Asian countries. To Vietnamese people, the Golden Buffalo symbolizes a golden harvest, prosperity, happiness, power and the Vietnamese martial spirit.

Venues

Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh City

Games

Opening ceremony

Sports

¹ - not an official Olympic Sport
² - sport played only in the SEA Games
³ - not a traditional Olympic nor SEA Games Sport and introduced only by the host country.

Closing ceremony

Criticisms

Vietnam, the host country, won a bunch of gold medals from many sports especially those which were scored by judges such as wushu, judo and karatedo^{[citation needed]}. Some believed that they wanted to gain fame and get the overall championship through the mentioned sports. Many believed that this was exactly their tactic to influence the games and grab the overall crown^{[citation needed]}.

External links

• SEA Games 22 website
• Medal Tally

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