Cambodia’s 71-member contingent of athletes, coaches and officials for the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang from August 18 assembled at the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia headquarters on Thursday morning and went through a detailed session of Games etiquette, routines, technical aspects and arrivals and departures, which was presented by NOCC secretary-general Vath Chamroeun.
While the first group leaves Phnom Penh on August 14, the rest of the team will join them in time for the August 18 opening ceremony.
In keeping with tradition, caretaker Prime Minister Hun Sen will organise a warm send-off for the contingent on August 6 at the Peace Palace to bless the team and help inspire the Kingdom’s athletes to bring greater glory.
The NOCC secretary-general dealt at length with efficient measures with which officials can better organise themselves and their teams, especially in the areas of training and nutrition.
Calling on the members to be on their best behaviour during the Games and strictly follow the technical guidelines that have been issued, Chamroeun reminded them that it was a huge honour to represent their country, and that it would be an even greater achievement to bring home medals.
“Stop taking any kind of energy drink from now on. You may not know what could be going in it, and we must learn from the bitter lesson of 2014 in Incheon when one of our soft tennis players was sent home after a banned substance was found in her sample. Unknowingly you may also become victims if you are not careful,” Chamroeun warned.
Meanwhile Cambodia will be represented in 13 disciplines during the games with sailing making its grand debut.
The list of the disciplines with the number of athletes and officials, in that order, are:
wrestling (5-2), taekwondo (6-2), swimming (3-1), fencing (4-1), gymnastics (1-1), sailing (3-1), jet skiing (2-1), jujitsu (2-1), athletics (5-1), karate (2-1), soft tennis (7-2), judo (2-1) and canoeing (3-1).
As many as 10 NOCC officials will also be part of the delegation.
