Arya News - An official letter listed the eight sports as Judo, Karate, Pencak Silat, Petanque, Wrestling, Wushu, Football and Sepak Takraw.
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia, through the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), has officially notified Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat, chief executive officer of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), that the Kingdom has altered its entry plans for the 33rd SEA Games 2025, to be held in Thailand from December 9-20.
According to the official letter, signed by Vath Chamroeun, NOCC secretary-general of NOCC, and dated November 26, Cambodia has confirmed it will withdraw from eight of the 21 sports it originally intended to compete in. This means the Kingdom will now participate in just 13 sports.
The letter listed the eight sports as Judo, Karate, Pencak Silat, Petanque, Wrestling, Wushu, Football and Sepak Takraw.
“We are writing to officially inform SEAGF that Cambodia will participate in thirteen sports and withdraw from eight sports. This adjustment was made due to major security concerns, which pose challenges to guaranteeing the safety and protection of our athletes and officials,” said the letter.
The remaining 13 sports Cambodia will compete in are Swimming, Athletics, Esports, Kun Lbokator, Gymnastics, Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Equestrian, Jet Ski, Triathlon, Table Tennis and Volleyball.
The NOCC also issued a notification on the updated SEA Games participation plan, explaining that the removal of eight sports was decided with the highest consideration for the safety and well-being of athletes, ensuring Cambodia’s participation is as responsible as possible.
“The leadership of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, especially under the highest guidance of the Head of Government, has made the final decision to minimise risks by removing sports held in Songkhla — an area affected by flooding — as well as several other sports,” explained NOCC.
“At present, Cambodia’s total sports delegation consists of only 150 members across 13 sports,” NOCC added. “This patriotic but difficult decision was made by the leadership to ensure Cambodia can still participate while guaranteeing the highest level of safety for our delegation. We hope the Cambodian public understands and graciously accepts this difficult decision.”