One of the most notable faces at the 33rd SEA Games is the 23-year-old Singaporean girl - Sasmithaa Mano.
Before wearing the national kabaddi national team jersey, Sasmithaa was widely known as a food-blogger, specializing in sharing photos and culinary feelings on social networks.
Her hobby of taking meticulous photos of dishes down to the details once made her friends "wait another ten minutes before eating".
Sasmithaa's culinary blog career began during the COVID-19 hiatus, when many Singaporean restaurants switched to online sales.
According to Singaporean media, Sasmithaa initially only saved meals as souvenirs, unexpectedly after that, her Instagram account received attention, was invited by restaurants to cooperate and participate in many try-ups, collaborations with culinary platforms or airlines.
Along with his passion for cuisine, Sasmithaa also has a love for sports. Fate came when she accidentally saw on social media the announcement of a female athlete team for the Singapore national cabaddi team - an combat sport with a "raider" that requires strength, speed and high tactics. She decided to apply and as a result received an official position.
From that time on, Sasmithaa began a new journey, practicing 3 sessions/week with her teammates to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. This is the first time kabaddi has been included in the competition at the Regional Congress.
Despite her busy schedule with work in the financial industry, volunteer work and culinary blog, she still tries to balance to both maintain her passion and aim for international competitions.
The 33rd SEA Games is an opportunity for Sasmithaa to prove that not only professional athletes are competitive from a young age, but with passion, determination and perseverance, a food-blogger can also rise to become a national athlete.
* Kabaddi SEA Games 33 will take place from December 11-18, 2025, including 3 events (7 men's/women's team; 5 men's/women's team; 3 men's/women's team). The Vietnamese sports delegation did not have a Kabaddi team participating.
* Play rules: A kabaddi match consists of two sets of 15 minutes each, with a 7-a-side format lasting 20 minutes.
In the basic competition rules, each team has 7 athletes, alternating one person to the opponent's court to "attack". The attacker's task was to touch the opponent's player and return to the home field safely, and at the same time had to continuously shout "kabaddi". Complete the attack will bring points to the team, but if kept, the points belong to the defensive team. After two rounds, the team with a higher total score will win.
