The Cambodian delegation withdrew from the SEA Games, but many athletes who hadn't competed yet had already secured at least a silver medal.

Cambodia's withdrawal from the 33rd SEA Games has once again thrown the competitions at this regional sporting event into a state of awkwardness and disbelief.

Many athletes have already won at least silver medals at the SEA Games 33 even before competing - Photo: KHAOSOD

Immediately after the Cambodian sports delegation announced its complete withdrawal from the 33rd SEA Games, Mr. Chaipak Siriwat, Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) and Chairman of the 33rd SEA Games Council, made a statement regarding the organization of the event.

Specifically, Siriwat stated: "The current schedule will be affected in karate, as two events do not have enough participating athletes. However, the organizing committee has decided to proceed with all events regardless of the circumstances."

Accordingly, some events at the SEA Games will only have 2 athletes/2 teams competing, and the organizers will only award gold and silver medals in these events.

According to the regulations of the SEA Games Council, each individual event at the SEA Games must have at least three competing countries.

And with Cambodia's complete withdrawal, some events will only have 2 athletes/2 teams competing, as Mr. Siriwat mentioned above.

This is not the first time the SEA Games have faced this situation. For example, at the 31st SEA Games, many divers knew they would at least win a silver medal before even competing, as only two athletes remained in the event due to withdrawals.

This has put the SEA Games in a rather comical situation, where some divers even made technical errors but still won silver medals.

Over the years, there has been much debate about whether the competition should be canceled when there are no longer enough participating countries (three countries).

However, at the 33rd SEA Games, host country Thailand argued that the Cambodian sports delegation's last-minute withdrawal stemmed from reasons outside the realm of sports, and that the training efforts of other athletes should not be affected.

Therefore, Thailand decided to hold all events at the 33rd SEA Games at all costs, regardless of how many athletes compete.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doan-campuchia-rut-khoi-sea-games-nhieu-vdv-chua-thi-dau-cung-it-nhat-gianh-hcb-20251211072824719.htm