Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), has warned that the quality and strength of Cambodia’s sporting efforts have fallen drastically since its triumphant hosting of the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.
He noted that Cambodia’s first-ever hosting of the event was a resounding success — in terms of medal achievements, hospitality and organisation. The opening and closing ceremonies reached an Olympic-level standard, making it difficult for other countries in the region to match.
However, he stressed that this success has since declined sharply after efforts were relaxed.
“Even though it was a success, behind that success there were still problems. We cannot say it was perfect. The SEA Games success was so great that once it ended, everything dropped sharply — because our mindset declined. We thought we had already succeeded, so we began to let our guard down,” he noted.
“We became overly proud of hosting the SEA Games, which led to complacency and reduced attention. This is a shared weakness — we had no follow-up plan, and everyone relaxed. That is the challenge,” he added.
In addition to this decline in effort, Vath Chamroeun acknowledged that while athletes, coaches, federations and stakeholders worked hard during the SEA Games, their approach was strategic but not scientific — meaning it lacked sustainability.
“We must admit that we were only strong during the SEA Games. After that, there was a clear decline because we lacked a scientific approach. We must address these weaknesses by developing human resources based on sports science, as Cambodia still lacks a proper system for knowledge and training in this field,” he noted.
He raised these concerns during the March 19 NOCC General Assembly, which marked the end of the 8th mandate (2022–2026) and the start of the 9th (2026–2030).
During the assembly, Senior Minister Thong Khon was re-elected as NOCC president, while Chamroeun was reappointed as secretary-general.
