Thailand to help Cambodia prepare for aquatic events at 2023 SEA Games
Representatives from Cambodia’s Swimming Federation will visit Thailand on Thursday to discuss cooperation with Thailand Swimming Association in developing Cambodia’s aquatic sports to prepare the country for hosting the 32nd Southeast Asian Games scheduled from May 5-17, 2023.
Association secretary-general Charoen Nopsuwan said on Sunday that in the early phase of cooperation, Cambodia is asking the association to send professional trainers to help develop training programmes for Cambodian athletes in swimming, water polo and diving.
The association has also been invited to inspect Phnom Penh’s newly built Aquatic Centre to check its readiness for the upcoming SEA Games.
Charoen added that the cooperation will enable the association to send Thai athletes to a training camp in Cambodia about one month before the Games to acclimatise themselves to the arenas.
He revealed that the construction of Thailand’s new Aquatic Centre in Bang Kapi, Bangkok is expected to be complete in 2024, before Thailand hosts the 33rd SEA Games in 2025. The centre can host five aquatic sports — swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, and marathon swimming.
Since the first event in 1977, Thailand has hosted three SEA Games — 1985, 1995 and 2007 — while 2023 will be the first time ever that Cambodia will host the games in Phnom Penh.
The Southeast Asian Games is held every two years and is a competition among 11 SEA Games Federation countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
