Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), has urged Cambodians — especially sports fans — not to believe recent Thai media reports that the Kingdom will be forced to reduce the size of the team it sends to this year’s SEA Games.
An August 21 report from Thai media outlet Kaosod English claimed that Thailand, the hosts of this December’s games, have asked Cambodia to reduce the number of athletes and officials attending the event to no more than 200.
The article alleged that Cambodia has submitted an entry list of over 600 athletes and more than 100 officials.
It claimed that because of political tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, and uncertainty about developments leading up to the event, Chaipak Siriwat, SEA Games Federation executive director, has instructed Cambodia to scale this down to 200 athletes so the hosts could ensure the Cambodian team’s security.
Chamroeun dismissed the reports as false when he spoke with local digital media the same day.
“We don’t know. They just publish things. We have not confirmed the exact number of participants. We are still waiting for the Cambodian government’s decision. This is unofficial information. We haven’t specified any participation numbers at all,” he said.
He also denied another Kaosod English report that suggested that Cambodia had already reduced its athlete delegation to 57, calling this equally untrue.
Chamroeun appealed to Cambodians not to believe Thai reports unless supported by written documents or official announcements.
“Any information from Thailand should not be believed without official documentation or proper confirmation. We shouldn’t waste time interpreting or reacting to it. The SEA Games organisers themselves haven’t issued any such announcement,” he stressed.
