Two Weeks Dominated by the Spirit of Sport: the SEA Games
By Prak Chan Thul
A lot has happened in the past two weeks. The 2023 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from May 5 to 17, with events also taking place in other parts of the country, including Kampot and Sihanoukville.
Cambodia won a total of 282 medals, including 81 gold, to finish in fourth place overall. This was the first time that Cambodia has hosted the SEA Games, and they put on an impressive show.
Athletes competed in a variety of sports, including athletics, swimming, gymnastics, and martial arts. The games were hailed a huge success, and Cambodia put Kun Khmer and Bokator on the international stage, winning many gold.
Cambodia's victory in the Bokator competition at the SEA Games was a major triumph for the country and for the martial art itself. The victory was due in no small part to the efforts of Grand Master Kimsean, who has spent decades preserving and promoting Bokator.
Bokator was nearly lost during the Khmer Rouge regime and as part of his preservation, Kimsean featured in a documentary about it - Surviving Bokator - starring his son and filmed in Kampong Chhnang province.
The movie premiered this week in Phnom Penh and was funded by World-famous ‘Donut King’, Ted Ngoy.
It is also important to shout-out to the number of outstanding athletes who won gold at the SEA Games. The athletes include Chhun Bunthorn, who beat Vietnam's Duc Phuoc to win the Men's 800m at Athletics SEA Games. Other outstanding females includes, Pal Chhor Raksmy, who won the most medals as a Cambodian in Vovinam and was one of two best athletes of the Games.
Sruong Pheavy won gold in three cushion billiards and Jessa Khan won gold in Jiu Jitsu.
In addition to their athletic accomplishments, Pheavy and Jessa have also been praised for donating some of their prize money to charity.
While the SEA Games may have ended, the excitement for sports is far from over. In just a short time, Cambodia will host the 12th ASEAN Para Games for the first time in the nation’s history. Athletes have already begun training hard with high expectations, and media organizations have started to register for the historic event.
This week also saw the main opposition Candlelight Party lose its appeal against a ban in July’s national elections. At an appeal on Thursday, Cambodia’s Constitutional Council upheld the National Election Committee’s (NEC) decision to exclude the party from standing in the elections.
The NEC claims the Candlelight Party failed to submit adequate documents and follow the correct instructions, causing it to reject the party’s registration.
Other important reads on Kiripost
Higher NPL, Loan Provisioning Forecast this Year
Call For Transparency in Extractive Industry Revenues
Artist’s Ambition to Break Graffiti Stereotypes
Efforts Needed for Cambodia to Fully Embrace Digitalization