PHNOM PENH, April 11 (Xinhua) -- 40 sports will be at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia next year, the Cambodian SEA Games Organizing Committee (CAMSOC) said in a news release on Monday.
The 40 sports for the regional event were approved by the South East Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) Council during a three-day hybrid meeting that concluded in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Sunday, the release said, adding that Cambodian national martial arts Kun Bokator will be for the first time contested at next year's event.
"It will be the highest number of sports to be competed being confirmed for any nation hosting the Games for the first time since 1977," the news release said.
Brunei, Vietnam and Laos included 21, 32 and 29 sports respectively when they first hosted the Games. This year's Games in Vietnam will also see 40 sports being competed.
Cambodia could still see an increase in the number of sports if the request for sports like Indonesia's Pencak Silat is accepted at the SEAGF Council meeting, expected to be held in June this year in Phnom Penh.
The 32nd SEA Games will be held in May 2023, and the China-aided Morodok Techo National Stadium in the Northern suburb of the capital Phnom Penh will be the centerpiece venue for the games.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the SEAGF Council on Sunday, CAMSOC president Gen. Tea Banh, also the Defence Minister of Cambodia, said the kingdom is ready to host the biennial sports event.
"Cambodia has waited for 64 years to be able to host the SEA Games 2023, and we are committed to ensuring that our hosting of this regional multi-sport event will be successful," he said.
The 40 approved sports are athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, boxing, billiards, cycling, canoe and rowing, chess, dance sports, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, karate, Muay, petanque, sailing, Sepak Takraw, soft tennis, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, Triathlon, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, Wushu, Arnis, body building, E-sports, floorball, Jiujitsu, Jetski, kick boxing, Kun Bokator, Vovinam, and Martial Arts Korea. ■