Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron identified the significant achievements that had stemmed from in-depth reforms to the national policy on the Development of Physical Education and Sports.
Speaking at a December 26 ceremony which awarded bonus prizes to the medalists of the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, he said the reforms had been enacted as part of the government’s promotion of the sporting sector as it prepared to host the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.
Chuon Naron explained that the reforms had focused on four areas. Sporting infrastructure had been improved, with repairs to existing grounds and facilities and the construction of new ones, most notably the Morodok Techo National Stadium.
There had been a massive increase in the training of officials and staff, increasing the Kingdom’s sporting human resources. The structure of competitions had also been improved. Finally, funding for the National Sports Federation had been increased.
“Thanks to these reforms, we have recorded five significant achievements,” he said.
“To accelerate the development of the sports that will be included in next year’s games, since 2017, we have implemented functional delegation and funding support to 42 national sports federations,” he added.
The second achievement was the ministry’s transfer of functions to the capital-provinces to organise events at the sub-national level, allowing national level officials to focus on primary, high school and higher education competitions. Individual sports federations are responsible for organising national championships, he said.
The third, he said, was the success of the National Sports Training Centre, which cooperated with the sporting federations in accordance with the SEA Games master plan. In 2022, the facility trained 1,036 men and 284 women from 38 sporting codes.
The ministry also encouraged many sporting federations to host international competitions, which allowed officials, referees and judges to gain valuable experience. It was also an opportunity to measure the ability of rival nations, and confirm that the Kingdom’s sporting infrastructure met international standards.
Finally, the Cambodian athletes who participated in regional, and world competitions have gained experience and tested their abilities successfully, claiming several medals.
“The results of these major in-depth reforms have spurred the development of sports and helped athletes win medals at the global, continental and regional levels. This has contributed to raising the profile of Cambodian sports on the international stage, most notably through our participation in the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. The Ministry, in cooperation with the National Olympic Committee, sent 550 sporting delegates in 295 disciplines of 33 sporting codes,” he said.
“The Kingdom’s athletes claimed a total of 63 medals, including 9 gold, 13 silver, and 41 bronze, placing us eighth on the medal table of the 11 ASEAN nation’s that participated,” he added.
Chuon Naron expressed his gratitude Prime Minister Hun Sen, for his unwavering support for Cambodian athletes in all domestic, regional and international competitions. The prime minister provided free charter flights to the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam to all of the Kingdom’s athletic delegations.
