Cambodia Withdraws Entire SEA Games 2025 Delegation: Athlete Safety Takes Precedence

The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) has formally announced the immediate withdrawal of its entire delegation from the 33rd SEA Games 2025 in Thailand, underscoring that athlete safety outweighs all sporting ambitions.

In an official letter addressed to SEA Games Federation president Chaiyapak Siriwat, NOCC Secretary-General Vath Chamroeun explained that rising security concerns and urgent calls from families demanding their relatives’ return home dictated the decision. “Due to serious concerns and for the safety of our athletes, the NOCC must withdraw all delegation members and arrange their swift return to Cambodia,” the letter read — a decision described as not being taken lightly.

The Cambodian delegation — comprising 137 people slated to compete across 12 disciplines — had taken part in the opening ceremony at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium just hours earlier.

This complete pullout follows earlier reductions: in late November, Cambodia had already scaled back its participation from an initial 333 athletes across 21 sports to about 150 athletes in 13 sports, citing similar security concerns.

While the withdrawal deprives Cambodia — which ranked fourth in the 2023 SEA Games medal standings — of a significant international sporting stage, NOCC officials emphasized that safeguarding athletes’ wellbeing remains the top priority amid escalating border tensions with Thailand.