National Police chief General Neth Savoeun, who also serves as president of the Volleyball Federation of Cambodia, hailed the efforts and achievements of the men’s indoor volleyball team after they won a historic bronze on May 21. It was the first such medal for the Kingdom since 1983.
In the third-place playoff on May 21, the Cambodian team surprised Thailand and defeated the eight-time gold medalists in a 3-2 set win (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 13-25 and 15-13) to take their first medal in 39 years.
“As president of the volleyball federation, I offer my appreciation for the bronze medal winning team,” General Savoeun took to social media to congratulate them after the historic volleyball medal was claimed.
“This is a moment of great national pride. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all members of the team – including the coaches, assistants, delegates and especially the players – for this brilliant success,” he added.
This result also provided sweet revenge over their Thai opponents. The two teams met earlier in a Group B qualifying match, with Cambodia throwing away a 2-0 lead to go down 3-2 to the Thais.
Sar Sokha, vice-president of the volleyball federation, also praised the efforts of the Cambodian players. “Although we did not win gold, there is a tremendous sense of pride in how hard the team strove in their efforts to compete on the world stage.”
On the same day, the national swimming team also picked up its first medal in 49 years, claiming bronze in the Fin Swimming-Men’s Relay 4 x 200m.
As of May 22, Cambodia had collected a total of eight gold, 12 silver and 39 bronze medals at the Hanoi games.
