Cambodia withdraws its entire delegation from the 33rd SEA Games.
Cambodia unexpectedly withdrew its entire delegation from the 33rd SEA Games due to political tensions and requests from the athletes' families.
At approximately 10:30 this morning, Mr. Vath Chamroeun – Secretary General of the Cambodian Olympic Committee – sent a letter to the Organizing Committee of the 33rd SEA Games, confirming the decision to withdraw the delegation from the Games. The reasons given relate to the political situation between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as the need to ensure the safety of the athletes' families.
Mr. Chamroeun expressed his regret and gratitude for the thoughtful reception given to the Cambodian delegation by the Thai Olympic Committee and the SEA Games Organizing Committee during their participation in the Games.
Initially, Cambodia planned to compete in 21 sports. On November 26th, they sent a letter to the SEAGF and THASOC announcing their withdrawal from eight sports, including football, sepak takraw, petanque, wrestling, and martial arts such as judo, karate, pencak silat, and wushu. On November 27th, they further withdrew from volleyball.
In the final confirmation, Cambodia only registered to participate in swimming, athletics, eSports, fencing, gymnastics, ju-jitsu, kickboxing, taekwondo, equestrianism, jet skiing, triathlon, and teqball, with a total of 110 athletes.
On December 7th, the border situation between Cambodia and Thailand became tense when gunfire erupted in the disputed area. Despite this, on the morning of December 8th, Cambodian swimming, taekwondo, and ju-jitsu teams still traveled to Thailand to participate in the flag-raising ceremony that day.
As of the evening of December 9th, Cambodia still had representatives present at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
Following Cambodia's announcement of its complete withdrawal this morning, the organizers were forced to change the schedule for several sports in which Cambodia had registered to participate, including swimming, ju-jitsu, taekwondo, and gymnastics.