In this photo taken on November 30, 2019, athletes and officials from Cambodia march during the opening ceremony of the SEA Games (Southeast Asian Games) at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan province, north of Manila. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Staging the Southeast Asian Games for the first time, Cambodia will showcase 39 sports in its coming-out party next year.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said on Monday that Cambodia announced the competition program during the just-concluded SEA Games Federation meeting held in Siem Reap, the town famed for Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage site.
“Cambodia is ready to host and they promised an excellent edition of the Games,” said Tolentino, who graced the gathering of top SEAG Federation officials with POC deputy secretary general Bones Floro, triathlon head Tom Carrasco and volleyball chief/POC broadcast committee chair Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
The 32nd edition of the 11-nation meet has been penciled May 5 to 16 in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia’s capital and designated hub of the Games.
Cambodia’s hosting was scheduled a year after Vietnam’s staging on May 12-23 following an earlier postponement last year.
According to Tolentino, centerpiece athletics and aquatics have been labeled Category 1 sports with the marathon for men and women starting and finishing at Angkor Wat as well as the road and mountain bike of cycling.
Under Category 2 are badminton, basketball (5×5 and 3×3), boxing, billiards, cycling (road and MTB), canoeing, rowing, dancesports, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics (aerobic and artistic), hockey, judo, karate, muay, petanque, sailing, sepak takraw, soft tennis, table tennis and taekwondo.
Also included in the competition calendar of the same classification are triathlon, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting and traditional boat race.
Category 3 sports arnis, bodybuilding, esports, jiu-jitsu, jet ski, kickboxing, kun vocator, vovinam and martial arts Korea will be featured.
Tolentino said water polo, cricket, shooting, wushu, floorball and obstacle sports are under consideration.
With Cambodia finally doing the SEA Games, all Asean nations have already taken turns hosting the biennial meet except for Timor Leste.