The Cambodian women’s wheelchair basketball team defeated the Philippines 63–14 at the 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania Championships being held in Bangkok, Thailand — a qualifying tournament for the 2026 Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan.
This victory, achieved on Wednesday morning, marked Cambodia’s third win in the Division B competition, which includes Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Iran, India and host nation Thailand.
Earlier in the tournament, Cambodia beat Iran 58–43 in their opening match and then Laos 67–40. However, on Tuesday, they lost 62-39 to Thailand before bouncing back to defeat the Philippines. Their final group-stage match will be against India on November 13.
Despite their strong performance, Cambodia’s hopes of advancing to the semifinals appear slim. According to the tournament format, only the top team in Division B qualifies to face the three Division A teams — Japan, Australia and China — in the semifinals.
Thailand, which has so far beaten the Philippines (68–14), India (93–13) and Cambodia, is now the clear favourite to top Division B. It is unlikely that either Laos or Iran will be able to upset Thailand, leaving Cambodia with little chance to overtake the hosts.
Nevertheless, Yi Veasna, secretary-general of the National Paralympic Committee of Cambodia, praised the team for their determination and achievement. He noted that even if they fail to reach the semifinals, their victories against Iran and Laos have already secured them a qualification spot for the 2026 Asian Para Games in Nagoya.
Veasna told local media that although the qualification is not yet officially confirmed, the team is very confident. He described them as “brave women with strong spirit”, commending their hard work, sacrifice and dedication to training and competition.
“Our women have trained hard, and I consider them brave athletes,” Veasna said.
“Technically and competitively, they’ve shown remarkable progress. What matters most is that they’ve achieved our main objective.
“Our goal in coming to Thailand was to earn direct qualification for the 5th Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan, in 2026. This was our biggest hope — to qualify through competition rather than rely on special consideration. Cambodia can be proud that we have earned our place,” he added.
