A 10-day Olympic Solidarity Commission coaching course in boxing opened at the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia headquarters in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Sponsored by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity movement, the course, involving 25 trainees drawn from various clubs affiliated to the Cambodian Boxing Federation, is being directed by International Boxing Federation (IBF) expert Rubasinghe Kankawamge Indrasgna of Sri Lanka.

Rubasinghe has a three-star level certificate as a trainer and two-star badge as a referee and judge. At the end of the theory and practical sessions, successful trainees will be awarded with IBF certificates.

Presiding over the opening ceremony, the secretary-general of the NOCC, Vath Chamroeun, said the main objective of the course was to build a healthy progression of certified coaches so that the country can be self-reliant in the run-up to the 2023 SEA Games.

“This is a great opportunity for our coaches to enhance their knowledge of the sport and seek better qualifications from the IBF,” he said.

“We thank Olympic Solidarity for creating this ideal platform for our coaches to learn the latest techniques so that their technical knowledge can be consolidated,” Chamroeun said.

Cambodia took six boxers to the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, with Ratha Ven winning a light welterweight (64kg) silver after losing to Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk in the final.

The boxing team for the upcoming Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games in August has yet to be announced.