Cambodia rebuffs reducing SEAG bets

Photograph courtesy of Cambodia Sea Games
Cambodia will not be cutting its number of delegates to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games despite its sour relationship with the host country — Thailand.
Cambodian Olympic Committee secretary general Vath Chamroeun said they are still in the process of finalizing their delegation in the prestigious biennial meet that is set from 9 to 20 December in Bangkok.
Chamroeun made the statement in reaction to a recent report of a Thai newspaper, Thairath, that they have drastically reduced their number of delegates by 96 percent from 1,515 to only 57 due to their border dispute with the Thais.
The report also claimed that, while Cambodia is sending a modest contingent, the Thais will deploy as many as 2,134 athletes who will participate in all 50 sports. Following Thailand are Singapore with 1,973 athletes, Malaysia with 1,824 athletes, while Vietnam is expected to send 863 athletes.
Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei and Timor Leste have requested a two-week extension to complete their registration, with the final deadline set for 1 September.
But the Cambodian official denied the claim.
“We have not made any commitments, except for encouraging our athletes to continue training,” Chamroeun told Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s leading newspaper.
“Everything will depend on the actual situation, and we are still waiting for the government’s final decision. There is still a long way to go.”
