What was supposed to be a celebration of unity, friendship and sportsmanship turned into chaos and confusion as Cambodia formally pulled out its entire delegation in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games following the escalation of its border conflict with Thailand.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino expressed regret over the unprecedented withdrawal, saying that it’s truly sad that the athletes, coaches and team officials of Cambodia were caught in a political crossfire with those from their neighboring country over territorial control.

Since its foundation as the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in 1959, all member countries have been participating in the SEA Games in a bid to foster regional cooperation and athletic development. Although there were some protests, disputes and misunderstandings, the SEA Games Federation Council is always making sure that everybody will see action in the biennial meet as one family.

Cambodia, which joined the SEA Games in 1961, is regarded as a fast-growing nation when it comes to athletic development. In fact, it made its first ever hosting of the event in 2023, where it made a lot of heads turn after finishing fourth with 81 gold, 74 silver and 127 bronze medals.

Tolentino said it’s truly heartbreaking to see the prestigious event being marred by “political decisions” that had a great impact in the participation of the athletes.

“It’s a pity. It’s really sad. It’s all sports, but I think it’s a political decision,” said Tolentino, an old hand in Philippine sports who also serves as honorary president of the SEA Games Federation Council.

In a previous interview, Tolentino said they didn’t tackle the Thai-Cambodia dispute in their previous meeting. Although there were already rumors of a possible withdrawal, ranking Council officials still swept it under the rug as all 110 Cambodian athletes who will compete in 12 sports joined the parade of nations at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday night to signify their readiness to compete for pride and glory.

“Now, (our delegates) got reduced. I hope they allowed those who are already here to participate but we can’t do anything about it. It’s definitely a decision made by their government. It’s a pity that it happened. We’re one family here. We’re supposed to be united but since it already escalated, we can’t do anything about it,” Tolentino added.

Reports have it that the border conflict between the two countries had gotten worst.

At least 11 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides, according to officials, as renewed hostilities derailed a United States-brokered truce.

Cambodia had already pulled out of eight sports at the Thailand-hosted Games, but National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) chief Vath Chamroeun wrote in a letter Wednesday to the SEA Games Federation Council that it would bring all of the country’s athletes home due to safety concerns. 

“Due to serious concerns and requests from the families of our athletes to have their relatives return home immediately, NOCC must withdraw all of our delegation and arrange for their prompt return to Cambodia for safety reasons,” he wrote.