Phnom Penh, 6 May 2023 (TDI): The 32nd Southeast Asian Games and the 12th ASEAN Para Games started on May 5 in Cambodia. The opening ceremony featured a wide range of sports with heavy investments from the Cambodian government.
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Hun Sen, expressed his satisfaction with the opening ceremony, stating that it won the hearts of the Cambodian people and sports delegates worldwide wrong and local and foreign attendees.
Hun Sen continued that the globe could learn more about Cambodia’s extraordinary past and present because of the musicians’ incredible arrangements and performances.
The SEA Games in 2023 will be a historic occasion for Cambodia, which has been waiting 64 years. The Cambodian Premier emphasized that “every Cambodian is extremely proud and thrilled to witness such an unprecedented great historical event.”
“All Cambodians are the hosts of this great event, so please join hands to support (the event) with a smile, enthusiasm, and patriotic respectability,” said Hun Sen.
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More than 60,000 Cambodian attendees were present to commemorate the historical and remarkable event at the Morodok Techo National Stadium.
According to senior citizen Sum Panha, all of the performances and shows during yesterday’s opening ceremony sent the area and the rest of the globe a solid message that Cambodia can now host international and regional events.
A total of 25 sports, including Boxing, Football, Kun Khmer, Kun Bokator, Pencak Silat, Sailing, Hockey, Volleyball, Jiu-Jitsu, Athletics, Obstacle Race, Triathlon, Cricket, Ouk Chaktrang (Chess), E-sports, Karate, Soft Tennis, Petanque, Vovinam, Swimming, Mountain Bike, Basketball, Sepak Takraw, and Teqball, are on the competition schedule for May 6.
Eight gold medals have been won by Cambodia thus far in the events of kun bokor, jiu-jitsu, aquathlon, vovinam, and ouk chakra (chess), briefly placing the country at the top of the medal table.
The SEA Games is a multi-sport event held every two years among athletes from Southeast Asian countries.
The 32nd SEA Games were initially scheduled in Vietnam in 2021 but were postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in early 2022, Vietnam announced that it would no longer host the event due to financial constraints caused by the pandemic.
