E-sports took a step into the sporting mainstream on Thursday as it made its debut at the Southeast Asian Games, becoming a medal event for the first time at an Olympic-recognised multi-sport competition.As the typhoon-hit Games, spread across dozens of venues in the northern Philippines, neared the halfway stage, e-sports made its grand entrance at a darkened arena in Manila.It represents progress for video gaming, which was a demonstration sport at last year's Asian Games but has been

The Philippines has begun evacuating thousands of people, local officials said Sunday, as a powerful typhoon rumbling in from the Pacific forced Southeast Asian Games organisers to cancel or reschedule some events.The storm entered Philippine territory Saturday evening, shortly before President Rodrigo Duterte and boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao launched the Games with a colourful opening ceremony.Forecasters expect Typhoon Kammuri to make landfall Monday evening or Tuesday morning, packing g

It is going to take a flawless next couple of weeks for the Philippines’ bruised reputation to recover from all the negative press surrounding the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.While this year’s edition of the biennial meet is the biggest in terms of sports, events and number of medals, it will now also be remembered as the biggest failure to prepare.Scheduled to run until 11 December, the region’s largest multi-sport event officially kicks off today but has already been overwhelmed by a t

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologised and pledged a probe into the troubled run-up to Saturday's opening of the Southeast Asian Games after a rush of logistical problems and last-minute construction.Complaints over transport, accommodation and food stacked up as thousands of athletes have flooded into Manila for the biggest ever edition of the Games, which are also threatened by an approaching typhoon forecast to hit the northern Philippines early next week.Though initially con

Philippine organisers of the Southeast Asian Games fired back on Thursday after days of critical coverage of the messy build-up to Saturday's opening ceremony.Reports of unfinished construction, transport delays and complaints about food have surfaced as competitors have poured in for the regional competition.In response, lawmakers and the spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte have called for a probe into the preparations.Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the organising committee, told j