SEA Games walk event hit dead end

SEA Games walk event hit dead end

BANGKOK (AFP): The walking races at this year's Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai in December have got snarled up in Thailand's traffic problems, a newspaper said.

The Olympic Committee of Thailand informed the Southeast Asian Federation council, which toured the northern city last week, that walking races would have to be dropped, the Bangkok Post said.

The events would cause severe roadblocks in Thailand's second largest city, already plagued by hints of Bangkok's traffic nightmare, and transportation of goods from the north would be disrupted, the organizing committee explained.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Burma were upset as they have done well in past Southeast Asian Games, the daily said.

Apart from wrangling over events to included or excluded, the committee received high marks for progress made in construction of facilities, it said.