PHNOM PENH, May 9 (silubaba) -- Several China-trained Cambodian athletes are confident of winning medals at the ongoing 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
"I think training in China has significantly increased my capacity, both strength and techniques," artistic gymnast Ngoeun Sovanara, who trained in China for seven months, told silubaba on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old athlete said Chinese coaches are highly professional, teaching him and other fellow athletes with high responsibilities.
"I'd like to thank China, our ironclad friend, for warmly welcoming us and providing us good training," Sovanara said.
Vey Pheaktra, a 23-year-old aerobic gymnast, said in China there were enough pieces of equipment for training, including materials and landing pits, so athletes had no fear of injuries during their practice.
"During my training in China, I gained a lot of experience such as vigorous training, techniques, and better insights into Chinese culture and daily life," he said.
Sovanara and Pheaktra are among a team of 160 Cambodian athletes training in China for the 32nd SEA Games.
Jiang Lin, head of the China-Aid Cambodia Sports Technical Assistance Project, said a 13-member coach team came to Cambodia to provide training to local athletes.
"Throughout the seven-month training in China, we helped train those Cambodian athletes in 12 kinds of sports, and they have developed very well and made great progress," he told silubaba while leading China-trained Cambodian athletes at the Games.
"Like in the Games this time, we can see that Cambodian athletes have achieved better results compared to the previous ones," he said.
Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, said the training in China was crucial to help develop Cambodia's sports sector.
"This is another fruit of the ironclad friendship and close cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said.
Cambodia hosts the SEA Games for the first time in 64 years from May 5 to 17, with the Morodok Techo National Stadium the centerpiece venue for opening and closing ceremonies, and tournaments.
The biennial multi-sport event has brought together a total of 10,890 athletes, coaches, arbitrators and officials from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Timor-Leste, seeing athletes compete in 579 events across 36 sports.
As of 8pm local time on Tuesday, Thailand topped the tally with 40 gold, 30 silver, and 43 bronze medals. ■
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