Cambodia pulls entire team from SEA Games as border tensions rise
All remaining Cambodian athletes competing at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand have decided to withdraw and return home, citing safety concerns linked to escalating border tensions between the two countries.
Cambodia had already reduced its delegation to 137 athletes and officials across 12 sports, some of whom took part in the opening ceremony held on December 9 at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.
However, on December 10, Cambodian officials informed their Thai counterparts that the delegation would pull out from all remaining events.
While the athletes were impressed with Thailand’s warm hospitality, senior Cambodian figures had warned that the worsening border situation could escalate further and potentially affect flights and the athletes’ ability to return home safely.
An official withdrawal letter is expected to be submitted around 11am today.
Chaiyapak Siriwat, the CEO of the Southeast Asian Games Federation office, said about 30 Cambodian athletes who attended the opening ceremony initially expressed gratitude for Thailand’s welcome.
But at 2am after the ceremony, Vath Chamroeun, Secretary-General of the Cambodian Olympic Committee, informed Thailand that parents and guardians of Cambodian athletes were extremely worried.
With rising border tensions and fears that air travel between the two countries could be disrupted, families urged the athletes to return home while they still could.
Cambodia then notified the Thai Olympic Committee of its decision to withdraw all athletes, with plans to depart on Tuesday.
“They apologised for the situation and said they must withdraw all athletes and return to Cambodia,” Chaiyapak said.
He added that the withdrawal affects only the karate competition, where two events will no longer have enough participants to meet regulations.
However, the SEA Games this year includes an arbitration panel to rule on such cases before forwarding the matter to the SEA Games Council.
With fewer than three teams remaining in the affected events, competitions may still proceed but award only two medals: gold and silver.