Gymnasts pose with leaders, coaches and sponsors at the December 27 closing ceremony of the championships. Chhorn Norn
Thong Khon, president of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) and president of the Cambodia Gymnastics Federation (CGF), has called for the Kingdom’s technical sporting staff to work diligently on enhancing the capabilities of athletes, with the goal of securing medals in the upcoming 33rd SEA Games in 2025 and the 2029 Asian Youth Games, which Cambodia will host.
As he addressed the December 27 closing ceremony of the 2024 National Gymnastics Championship, held at the National Olympic Stadium, he reflected on the achievements of Cambodian gymnasts at previous SEA Games.
The Cambodian team won three silver medals and one bronze at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in 2022 and secured one silver and three bronze medals at the 32nd SEA Games, which Cambodia hosted in 2023.
The CGF head expressed his confidence in the team’s potential, encouraging them to continue strengthening their skills to improve chances of winning medals. He emphasised the importance of gaining more international experience and improving technical skills by learning from past competitions.
“I encourage the federation to extract experiences and technical knowledge from every international event to improve the coaching staff and develop athletes with high-level capabilities. This will help our athletes reach the podium and win medals at the SEA Games in 2025 and the Asian Youth Games in 2029, where Cambodia will be the host,” he said.
Eight clubs participated in this year’s tournament, with 64 athletes, 33 officials and 13 volunteers.
The Ministry of Interior team came out on top, winning five gold, seven silver and one bronze medal, followed by the Ministry of National Defence team, with three gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Kampong Chhnang province secured third place, winning three gold, one silver and five bronze, while Kratie province finished fourth with two gold, two silver and six bronze medals.
Thong Khon acknowledged the success of the 2024 competition but stressed that more work is needed to ensure continued progress in preparation for the SEA Games and Asian Youth Games.
Thong Khon and Noy Phana present medals and bouquets at the 2024 National Gymnastics Championship on December 27. Chhorn Norn
He outlined five key recommendations for the technical staff of the federation.
They must train athletes according to age levels and send them to international training camps to improve both quantity and quality of high-level technical skills.
They should also strengthen the capacity of judges, technical officials, coaches and assistants in both quantity and quality.
More competitions and regular training sessions should be encouraged.
The organisational structure of the federation, clubs and associations must be improved, and more development partners should be sought.
They should also increase participation in international competitions.
Noy Phanna, CGF secretary-general, explained that the federation has a drawn up detailed plans to achieve success at the 2025 SEA Games and the 2029 Asian Youth Games. He added that they are already preparing athletes for these events.
“We have already identified all these points, but we are waiting for the 2025 assembly to see how the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport will support the recruitment of athletes for both the SEA Games and Asian Youth Games,” he added.
Regarding the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, Phanna was confident that the federation’s blueprint for success will ensure that athletes can win medals.
“As the technical supervisor, I emphasise that we must work hard to secure at least one medal in any of the three categories at the SEA Games in 2025,” he continued.
