BOWLING BACK AT GAMES

Wushu, karate also set for 2025 edition; final programme to be confirmed in Oct

- David Lee

Over the past year, Singapore's bowlers have blazed the lanes at the continental and global levels, winning titles at the World Bowling Championships, Asian Tenpin Championships and World Youth Championships.

They will be looking to take that form into 2025, when the sport returns to the SEA Games in Thailand from Dec 9 to 20, after its omission from the 2023 edition.

On Sept 26, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) confirmed with The Straits Times that the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) has approved the inclusion of tenpin bowling, wushu, sport climbing, ju-jitsu and cricket for the upcoming Games.

Karate will also be reinstated to the regional event, said a Bernama report.

It is understood that the SNOC had appealed for the five sports to be part of the Games roster, after wushu, ju-jitsu, karate, lawn bowls, and weightlifting were dropped in June. Hosts Thailand had then proposed for 40 sports to be contested in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla. Lawn bowls and weightlifting are still not part of the 2025 programme.

An SNOC spokeswoman said: "The final programme will be officially confirmed after the SEAGF council's endorsement at their upcoming meeting in late October."