The Cambodian finswimming delegation has concluded their campaign at the 2025 CMAS 2nd SEA Finswimming Championship Indoor competition in Jakarta, Indonesia, by winning 1 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. The team returned to Cambodia on Thursday night with their 10 medal-haul, placing them third overall.
This result marks a slight decline in both medal count and overall ranking compared with the 1st SEA Finswimming Championship 2025, hosted by Cambodia.
Regarding this year’s results, Hem Kiry, secretary-general of the Khmer Swimming Federation and head of the delegation to Indonesia, noted the reason for the “fall” in performance.
“Comparing the first and second editions, Cambodia dropped one gold medal and also received fewer silver medals, placing third overall,” he acknowledged.
“When Cambodia was the host, we had more athletes and more events. This time, we sent only six athletes. Given that, winning 1 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze is reasonable for the size of our team,” he explained.
Kaing Muynin, a SEA Games 2023 gold medalist, repeated the feat in Indonesia, securing the team’s only gold. She also earned 2 silver and 2 bronze. In 2024, she won 2 gold, 3 silver and a bronze. Another silver medal this year was won by Kheun Bunpichmorakat.
During the previous championship, the Cambodian team won 2 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze, ranking second — behind Vietnam, which claimed 21 gold, 14 silver and 4 bronze. Indonesia ranked third with 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze, while Thailand earned 1 silver and 10 bronze. Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore won no medals in that 2024 event, held in Cambodia from November 2 to 5 last year.
Only five countries participated in the second edition: Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand. The Philippines and Singapore did not participate, though the number of athletes was larger than in 2024.
Participation increased because Indonesia introduced both senior and youth categories.
Indonesia and Vietnam brought large youth teams, while Malaysia and Thailand also had many youth athletes but only one senior competitor each—fewer than Cambodia, which sent five senior athletes and one youth athlete.
“Before the competition, we didn’t expect these many medals. But in reality, we performed well. All our athletes won at least one medal. Our youth athletes joined senior events, which contributed to our medal tally,” said Kiry.
Vietnam dominated the event, with 31 gold, 22 silver and 6 bronze, while the hosts placed second, with 4 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze.
“Vietnam remains dominant because they have many athletes and strong finswimming performance. Indonesia also earned more medals this time because they had a larger team and the advantages of being the host,” acknowledged Kiry.
“Even though we lost one gold medal compared with last year, Muynin compensated by winning two silver medals. All six of our athletes won at least three medals each. Bringing back 10 medals is a satisfying result for Cambodia,” he added.
He noted that he is still not fully satisfied, as he wants to see the finswimming team further improve and win more medals in future competitions.
“The success we achieved in Indonesia does not yet meet our expectations. We need to work harder for next year’s tournament, which may be hosted either by Vietnam or Malaysia. The final decision will be made at the ASEAN Finswimming Federation meeting in mid-December,” he said.
