The 2017 Southeast Asia Games drew to a close on Tuesday, with Cambodia improving on its last effort by bagging three gold medals, including Sorn Seavmey emerging victorious in the women’s taekwondo.
Cambodia took three gold, two silver and 12 bronze medals at the games in Kuala Lumpur, coming above Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste to end eighth out of 11 countries.
Cambodia’s regional petanque dominance continued as pair Ouk Sreymom and Ke Leng took home gold, while traditional kickboxer Khun Dima overcame his Thai opponent to take the honors in kickboxing.
Ms. Seavmey became a national star after winning the country’s first ever Asian Games gold in 2014.
The latest campaign was an improvement on the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, where Cambodia won one gold, five silver and nine bronze medals.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, an avid sports fan, took to Facebook on Tuesday to congratulate the athletes, saying they were the “pride of the nation.”
Malaysia topped the medal tally with 304 medals—including 133 gold—while Thailand was far behind in second with 69 gold medals.
Cambodia will host the biennial games for the first time in 2023.
