PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian wrestling team has returned from the South-East Asian and Invitation Championship 2025 laden widen with medals. The team considered the haul — of 1 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze — a strong result and noted that the athletes gained valuable experience, especially as the 33rd SEA Games, to be hosted by Thailand at the end of 2025, approaches.
Heng Vuthy, who won gold in the 92kg freestyle category, said the competition was extremely tough because countries outside of Asean also participated. It was an open tournament that allowed each country to enter 2 to 3 athletes per class, making the contest even more competitive, he explained.
He spoke with the media upon his arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport on May 13.
“I performed well at this competition, but it was really tough because countries like Australia, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei also competed. Some weight divisions involved fighting from morning until evening before results were known,” he added.
Despite the challenges, Vuthy said he will take the lessons he learned in Singapore and use them to fuel his determination as he prepares for the SEA Games.
“What we went through was an experience and a test for us, and should help us achieve good results at the SEA Games. We’ve seen that the athletes from Australia and Chinese Taipei are even stronger than those from Vietnam, so we’ve learned from them in order to improve for the SEA Games this December,” he continued.
Team coach Chov Sotheara described the haul from the Singapore competition as a positive sign, ahead of the December games.
“These results are a good sign for our SEA Games preparations — not just for the medal winners, but also for those who didn’t win this time. We need to take the experiences from the Singapore competition and use them to strengthen both our conditioning and technical skills for the SEA Games later this year,” he told the media.
The kingdom sent 12 athletes to the championship, which took place from May 10-12. The team was sponsored by Casey Barnett, vice-president of the Cambodian Wrestling Federation (CWF), with the goal of evaluating and improving the team’s performance as part of preparations for the upcoming SEA Games.
Barnett, himself a former wrestler, expressed his pride in the Cambodian team’s success.
“Strength, skill and bravery. Cambodia’s wrestling athletes brought home 1 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze medals — and national pride — from the 2025 Southeast Asian Championship in Singapore,” he said, via social media. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
