2003 SEA Games

The 2003 Southeast Asian Games (Vietnamese: Đại hội Thể thao Đông Nam Á 2003), officially known as the 22nd Southeast Asian Games, SEA Games 22 and also known as Vietnam 2003, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held from 5 to 13 December 2003 in Hanoi, Vietnam. This was the first time that Vietnam had staged the SEA Games, and it saw Timor-Leste, which had just gained independence in 2002; although not yet being an ASEAN member and despite its geographical location closer to the Pacific archipelago than the Asian continent, making its debut at the games. The games was held from 5 to 13 December 2003, although several events had commenced from 29 November 2003. Around 5,000 athletes from 11 participating nations participated at the games, which featured 442 events in 32 sports. Vietnam is the eighth nation to host the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei. The games was opened by Phan Văn Khải, the prime minister of Vietnam at the newly constructed Mỹ Đình National Stadium and was closed by Phạm Gia Khiêm, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam. The final medal tally was led by host Vietnam, followed by Thailand and Indonesia. A number of records in Games and National level were broken during this edition. The games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst the participating nations.