Cambodia registers best-ever finish in ASEAN Para Games

Cambodia bagged 28 medals in the just-concluded 11^th ASEAN Para Games 2022 in Indonesia, for its best-ever finish in the multi-country sports event.

The Indonesian city of Surakarta (also known as Solo) hosted this year’s ASEAN Para Games from July 30 to August 6. 

The biggest sports competition for disabled athletes in Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Para Games is usually hosted by the same country where the Southeast Asian Games is being held.  

Cambodia’s tally from the Games included seven gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals, more than in any other Para Games where the Kingdom competed. 

It also exceeded the expectations set by Cambodian sports authorities. 

Cambodia placed seventh overall among the 11 nations that were represented in the Indonesia Para Games. 

Yi Veasna, Secretary-General of National Paralympic Committee of Cambodia (NPCC), earlier declared that he expects the Kingdom’s athletes will win three gold, 10 silver and 15 bronze medals from the Indonesia Games. 

“Our athletes have trained and prepared a lot for the Games. So, I am expecting them to do better than before,” he said just before the team embarked for Indonesia. Veasna later retained his post as one of the Vice Presidents of the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF). 

Cambodia sent a 166-person delegation, including 115 athletes, to the Games led by National Assembly member Hun Many, who is also the Vice President of NPCC and President of Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia or UYFC. 

Cambodian athletes competed in 11 sports (multiplied into 133 disciplines), including boccia, athletics, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, table tennis, Cerebral Palsy (CP) football, goalball, swimming, badminton, chess and weightlifting. 

Cambodia was part of the inaugural Para Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001, and has been competing in every edition since then.

The second-best tally recorded by the Kingdom (and the highest number of medals before this year’s event) was in the 9^th ASEAN Para Games 2017, also in Kuala Lumpur, where it won 10 medals (five silver and five bronze medals). Khmer athletes, however, did not win a single gold medal in Malaysia.

In essence, the best performance for the Cambodian delegation before Indonesia was in the 6th ASEAN Para Games 2014 in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, where Khmer athletes collected three gold, four silver and two bronze medals, for a grand total of nine medals. 

The rankings for the Para Games, just like in the SEA Games, Olympics, Asian Games and similar competitions, are usually based on the number of gold medals, not on the total number of medals. 

It was only in 2022 and 2014 that Cambodia won more than one gold medal in the Para Games, records show. 

Surakarta also hosted the 6^th ASEAN Para Games in 2011, where Cambodia only won a measly seven medals (five silver and a couple of bronze medals).

Cambodia’s worst-ever performance was in the 4th ASEAN Para Games 2008 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, with only a single silver medal to show for the duration of the tournament.  

Best performers in Surakarta

Cambodia’s 28 medals came from boccia, athletics, swimming, women’s wheelchair basketball, men’s sitting volleyball, chess and table tennis.

The 3×3 women’s wheelchair basketball squad scored an upset final win over Thailand to hand Cambodia its first gold medal in the Para Games. 

The surprise win for the heavy underdogs heralded a successful outcome for the Cambodian delegation. 

Vith Chantha claimed the second gold medal for Cambodia in long jump. Chantha ended up as the Kingdom’s most successful athlete there, having won another gold medal in women’s 400m T47 race a few days later. 

Her success elicited congratulatory messages from Prime Minister Hun Sen and other top officials. 

The Kingdom also won gold medals in boccia and swimming courtesy of Sorn Sal and Ngoun Ratana, respectively. For starters, boccia is a precision ball sport that is similar to bowling or petanque, where Cambodia is a global powerhouse. 

The rest of Cambodia’s gold medals came from the men’s sitting volleyball and 4 x 4 100m relay teams. 

Indonesia topped them all 

Thailand topped this year’s ASEAN Para Games, a feat it also achieved in Malaysia five years ago.

Indonesia won a total of 426 medals (175 gold, 144 silver and 107 bronze medals), followed by Thailand with 318 medals (117 gold, 113 silver and 88 bronze medals), Vietnam with 182 medals (65 gold, 62 silver and 55 bronze medals), Malaysia with 69 medals (36 gold, 20 silver and 13 bronze medals), the Philippines with 104 medals (28 gold, 30 silver and 46 bronze medals), Myanmar with 43 medals (14 gold, 12 silver and 17 bronze medals), Cambodia, Singapore with 27 medals (seven gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals), Timor-Leste with 12 medals (five gold, two silver and five bronze medals) and Brunei with four medals (one gold and three bronze medals).

Laos won more medals than Brunei (nine to four for the tiny, oil-rich sultanate), but had to settle for the last spot, after a gold-less performance in Surakarta. Laotian athletes were only able to collect two silver and seven bronze medals. 

The 10^th ASEAN Para Games 2019, which the Philippines was supposed to host, did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other reasons. 

Cambodia will host the 12^th ASEAN Para Games next year.