Olympic champions to trailblazers: Five to watch at SEA Games

HANOI: Thousands of competitors are gathering in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi for the 31st SEA Games after COVID-19 postponed the event for six months.

AFP Sport looks at five athletes who could steal the show when the Games begin on Thursday (May 12).

The world number one in women's taekwondo in the 49kg category, Panipak was Thailand's only gold medallist at last summer's Tokyo Olympics and is also a two-time world champion.

Called "Tennis" by her parents, who gave their children nicknames to kindle an interest in sport, she instead excelled at the Korean martial art.

A favourite among Thai sports fans, the 24-year-old was hospitalised for COVID-19 in early April but is still expected to lead the way for her country in Hanoi.

Weightlifter Diaz made history by winning the women's 55kg class in Tokyo, a first Games gold for the Philippines in the country's nearly 100 years of Olympic competition.

Stranded for nearly 18 months in Malaysia during the pandemic, the 31-year-old had to train in a makeshift rural village gym before setting the Tokyo Games alight.

A staff sergeant in the Philippine Air Force, she became an instant national hero.

Known to celebrate by tucking into cheesecake and bubble tea.

Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling became a household name after winning the 100m butterfly at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Still Singapore's only gold in its Games history.

The 26-year-old has claimed over two dozen golds at the SEA Games, along with three Asian Games golds.

A bumpy 2021 saw him fail to defend his title in Tokyo and did not even make it out of the heats.

That and mandatory national conscription has left a question mark over where his career is headed.

Pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena is one of the region's top stars in