Government officials handed out close to $1 million to medal-winning athletes and coaches during a prize-giving ceremony held on Tuesday at the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia headquarters.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, NOCC President and Tourism Minister Thong Khun and Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron presided over the event, which saw amounts totalling 3.92 billion riel (US$981,400) given to national team members for their successes at international tournaments such as last December’s 27th SEA Games in Myanmar.

Five other sports events in which Cambodians grabbed podium places included the 16th and 17th Asian Petanque Championships held in Vietnam and Indonesia respectively, the 7th Francophone Games in Nice, France, the 2nd Southeast Asian Vovinam Championships in Siem Reap, and the 9th Francophone Taekwondo Championship in Vietnam.