The number of athletes, coaches and referees registering for the 5th ASEAN School Games has reached a record high of 1,700, 500 more than initially planned, announced the organising board.

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) website quoted the organisers as saying that the event will be held in Hanoi from June 22-30 with the participation of eight teams from Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia and a guest team from Laos.

Athletes will compete in nine events, namely track-and-field, sepak takraw, swimming, badminton, basketball, gymnastics, table-tennis, volleyball and pencak silat.

The Vietnamese team aims for 20-25 gold medals, hopefully from the track-and-field, gymnastics, table-tennis and Pencak Silat events.-VNA