The country's disabled volleyball team suffered a great loss on April 4 when one

of their star players died in a road crash. Man Soeurn, who was 29, was on the team

that won gold in the 2002 FESPIC games in South Korea.

Team program manager Khlok Chamroeun said Soeurn would be sorely missed.

"We lost a key player," she said. "He was the best player and he was

a smart player."

Takeo-born Soeurn lost his lower leg to a landmine in the 1980s while in the army.

Despite the accident, Soeurn remained optimistic and went on to inspire others in

the sport.

He was playing for the Kampong Speu volleyball team when the national selectors picked

him out. His provincial team has been renamed the Man Soeurn Lions in his honor.