The Cambodian Petanque team won one more gold and one more silver medal for the nation on their final day of competition at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam on May 19, while the Vovinam and Taekwondo teams also added to the tally.
In the women’s team event (3x3) on May 19, Un Sreyya, Srang Surakhim, Khuon Yari and Duong Dina (reserve) were behind to the Lao women’s team 10-2 in the early stages of the match, but were able to reverse the situation and fought back for a sweet 13-10 victory in the semi-finals.
The trio also did well in their match against their Vietnamese hosts in the final round. Although they had gone down 13-8 to the hosts in the group stage, Sreyya, Surakhim, Yari and Dina found their rhythm and were able to turn a 7-5 trailing score into a 13-11 victory and take the gold.
The men’s team of Nhem Bora, Heng Thorn, Sieng Vanna and Khuon Lyhour (reserve) defeated their Malaysian counterparts in the semi-finals before losing to the Thai team 13-1 in the final. Although the Cambodian men had beaten the Thai team 13-4 in the qualifying round, they were unable to find the same form in the final, settling for silver.
This brings the petanque teams’ total haul at the Hanoi games to two gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
On the same day, Cambodian Vovinam martial artist Chuk Somaly won silver in the 65kg category after losing to her Vietnamese opponent in the final, while Pov Sokha and Soeur Chan Leakena, who competed in the women’s doubles event, could only manage to take bronze. Eh Amarin Phuthong also won a bronze medal in the men’s 60kg category after losing to a Vietnamese athlete in the semi-finals of the same Vovinam event.
Cambodian taekwondo athlete Casandre N, who defeated her Malaysian opponent 15-5 in the qualifiers, lost to a Vietnamese fighter 15-10 in the semi-finals to claim a bronze medal in the women’s 62kg category. She also won bronze at the 2019 SEA Games, when the Cambodian-American athlete lost to a Vietnamese artist in the same round.
