The Cambodian Tug of War Federation is setting its sights on enriching the national championship.
According its president Meas Sarin, the main goal is to amplify both quality and participation. While watching the 2023 national competition, he noted that less than half of all Cambodian tug of war associations and clubs joined the fray.
On July 15, during the closing ceremony of the 2023 National Championship, held in the capitals’ Chroy Changvar district, Sarin expressed disappointment with the level of participation.
“Though there were 12 participating clubs, only half secured medals. It doesn’t demonstrate robust competition,” he opined.
To address this, Sarin plans to roll out a novel competition format, introducing “A1” and “A2” divisions from 2024 onward. The idea is to boost both the number and performance of participants.
“We’ve seen Battambang, Kampot, Svay Rieng, and Tbong Khmum prevail, but I want to see more provinces challenging each other,” he said.
Under the new format, the federation aims to have six teams in the A1 division for the 2024 national competition and a further six in 2025.
“The A1 2025 competitions will be separate,” Sarin explained. “Newcomers will compete in the A2 division, the bottom two teams in A1 will be relegated, and the top two teams in A2 will be promoted to A1. This method should accelerate sporting development”.
Chap Ratana, secretary general of the Cambodian Tug of War Federation, reported that a total of 244 participants, including 33 coaches and 206 players, represented 12 associations and clubs in the 2023 National Tug of War.
The competition ran from July 12 to 15, culminating with the Battambang team snatching gold medals in both the 8 x 8 men’s and women’s events, narrowly edging out the Svay Rieng team.
The team from Battambang also added a silver medal in the 4 x 4 women’s event. Notably, Svay Rieng won two silver medals in the 8 x 8 event and a gold medal in the 4 x 4 event.
The Navy team took third place with a gold medal in the 4 x 4 women’s event, with Tbong Khmum and Kampot taking home silver and bronze medals respectively.
However, six other associations and clubs came up empty. Despite these mixed results, Sarin remained optimistic.
“This year saw more clubs participating. We see that the performance is better than previous years. The athletes, having competed at the provincial level, have brought more to the competition this year,” he said.
