Hun Many, president of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia has hailed the gold, silver and bronze medal-winning exploits of the Cambodian athletes at the 11th ASEAN Para Games in Surakarta, Indonesia.
Assigned by Prime Minister Hun Sen to lead the Paralympic delegates at the games in Indonesia, Many saw firsthand their efforts as they showed true spirit both in training and competition.
"Sweat and blood in the cause of the nation and the motherland! For them, disability is no obstacle!" he said in a social media post.
Many's remarks came as disabled Cambodian athletes compete in 11 sports as they do their best to make the Kingdom proud.
As of the evening of August 3, Cambodian disabled athletes had won five gold medals, along with seven silver and four bronze at the 11th ASEAN Para Games, which are ongoing in Indonesia.
Of the five gold medals, the first was taken by the women's wheelchair basketball team in the three-on-three event on July 31, and the second by athlete Vit Chantha in the long jump on August 1.
Female boccia player Son Sal won a third gold medal in the individual BC2 event on August 3, while Nguon Ratana won a fourth gold in the 1500m T46 event with a time of 6min, 21sec.
Chantha won her second gold medal and the fifth for Cambodia in the 400m, which took her personal tally to two gold and one silver.
There remain further opportunities for Cambodian athletes to take home more medals from the ASEAN Para Games, with the men's volleyball team having beaten the Philippines 3-0 and Myanmar 3-1.
Having recorded a 3-0 win over hosts Indonesia in the semi-finals, Cambodia will face a strong Thai team in the final on August 4 for the gold medal.
"We will continue congratulating the winners and supporting all the competitors. The competition is tough, but our team did not hesitate to participate, doing their best to bring honour to the motherland," Many said.
