The Cambodian ITF Taekwondo team has set a clear goal – To win as many gold medals as possible at the 2nd Junior & Senior Southeast Asian Taekwon-Do ITF Championship 2025. The Kingdom will hot this year’s championship, at the National Olympic Sports Complex on June 29–30. Their ambition is to claim the #1 overall regional ranking by earning the highest number of medals.
The tournament features 197 athletes from six countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and North Korea. All of the teams have already arrived in the Kingdom. Notably, Thailand is absent from this year’s competition.
According to Him Ryda, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodian ITF Taekwondo Federation, categories include U13, U15, U17 and senior national representatives, spanning 145 medal categories.
As hosts, Cambodia is aiming to claim 45–50% of the medals on offer.
Ryda, a 6th Dan black belt and international coach, addressed a press conference, ahead of the event.
“As hosts, we’ve set our target to win between 45–50% of all medals. To achieve this, all national athletes, including the senior team and U13, U15, and U17 squads, must give it their all. This is a home competition — we must demonstrate our strength,” he said.
World champion gold medallist Pal Chivorn, who serves as a coach while also competing, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to secure gold medals for the Kingdom.
“What we want most are gold medals. But we also accept that some of our athletes may not win medals — some are gaining experience for the first time. Still, our main motivation is to bring home medals from this event,” he told the press.
During the 1st Southeast Asian ITF Taekwondo Championship in 2016, also hosted by Cambodia, the team finished first, winning 31 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals.
Malaysia followed in second place with 5 gold, 10 silver, and 18 bronze; Vietnam ranked third with 1 gold, 14 silver, and 15 bronze; Singapore came fourth with 1 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze; while Thailand earned 1 silver and 6 bronze. The Philippines and Indonesia failed to win any medals in that edition.
“Back in 2016, we won more than 30 medals and ranked #1. This time, we want to keep that top ranking. I expect the 18+ age group will contribute the most medals, as they are highly experienced, having competed nationally and internationally,” said Chivorn.
