Cambodia denies sending only 57 athletes to SEA Games 33, accuses Thailand of 'deliberately giving false information'

TPO - Thailand and Cambodia are giving different information about the number of athletes in the Cambodian delegation at the 33rd SEA Games. Yesterday, the host country confirmed that the neighboring sports delegation had been reduced from more than 1,500 athletes to 57 athletes, but today, the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) denied this information.

Báo Tiền Phong•05/08/2025

“We don’t know about this. This is not official information. We have never thought about anything other than training hard. Everything depends on the situation and we have to wait for the government to make a final decision. We still have a lot of time,” Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, told the Phnom Penh Post.

“Whether Cambodia will participate in the SEA Games or not depends on the actual situation related to the issue between the two countries, and the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia also needs to decide from the Royal Government of Cambodia,” the Phnom Penh Post analyzed. This publication also bluntly asserted that the Thai side “gave false information.”

Mr. Vath Chamroeun - Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia

Previously, Thairath, Matichon and Khaosod newspapers all quoted Thana Chaiprasit, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand. This official confirmed that the number of Cambodian athletes registered for the 33rd SEA Games with the organizing committee was only 57, with a total of 1,443 absentees. The non-attendance rate of this delegation was up to 96%.

This is not the first time that Thai and Cambodian sports have sent out conflicting messages on an issue. At the 32nd SEA Games held at home, Cambodia organized a Kun Khmer martial art competition, but Thailand claimed that it was actually Muay Thai. The controversy between the two sides reached its peak, causing the Thai sports delegation to withdraw from this martial art.

At the 33rd SEA Games, up to now, excluding Cambodia, only 6 delegations have finalized the number of athletes. Thailand sent 2,134 athletes, Malaysia has 1,824, Vietnam has 863, Singapore has 1,793 and Myanmar has 749. The remaining delegations asked for more time before making a final decision.