But more than that, the RP delegation also managed to minimize the penalty imposed on taekwondo’s Esther Marie Singson.

The Southeast Asian Games Federation Council (SEAGFC) decided to strip Singson and two other athletes found positive of prohibitive substance of the medals they won.

However, Singson, a taekwondo jin, got a relief as the council opted not to impose a two-year ban on Singson. Others were Malaysia’s Rayner Kionsiong, a karatedo silver medalist, and bowling silver medalist Happy Ari Dewanti of Indonesia. They are however qualified to see action in 2007.

In the first meeting of the SEAGFC Sports and Rules Committee, it was initially decided that the 24th SEA Games will have 40 sports in calendar, including a bunch which the Philippines dominated in the last staging en route to winning its first ever overall championship win.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) special assistant to the president and national athletics chief Go Teng Kok, who represented the country in the meet said that the committee approved an initial draft of its calendared sports which consisted of two mandatory sports – athletics and aquatics; 30 other Olympic sports and six category 3 disciplines.

In the 23rd SEAG last year, the Philippines swept all the six gold medals staked in the traditional boat race.

The SEAG Federation Council, which is also meeting here, will further evaluate the sports disciplines to be played the regional biennial meet.

It will be the fifth time Thailand will play host to the SEA Games, but this time they will hold it in the province of Nakorn Rachasima, which is 200 kilometers outside the capital.