Premier Establishes Kickboxing Committee to Win Unesco Bid Statu

In a bid to get Khmer kickboxing inscribed on Unesco’s list of in­tangible cultural heritage, Prime Minister Hun Sen last month established a committee charged with researching and documenting the sport.

The 19-member committee, led by Culture Minister Him Chhem, is com­­­posed of officials from the Coun­­cil of Ministers, the boxing federation and various other government min­­­istries, according to a document signed June 23 by Mr Hun Sen.

It will be responsible for the study and documentation of the sport known in Khmer as “Kbach Kun Boran Khmer.”

Chhoeung Yavyen, deputy president of the Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation and a member of the new committee, said yesterday that the new committee had already met three times to discuss and outline how it will go about achieving its mission.

The committee’s appointed chairman, Mr Chhem, could not be reached for comment.

Kbach Kun Boran Khmer is one of Cambodia’s most popular sports, shown in coffee shops and homes around the country, with its most highly watched programming occurring during premiere fights staged on the weekends.

In 1998, the Thai Boxing Associ­ation urged Cambodia to join its league with hopes of reviving the sport in the region. However, Cam­bodian officials boycotted tournaments because they referred to the sport as Muay Thai, or Thai boxing. Cambodians say Khmer kickboxing is uniquely Cambodian and dates back to the Angkorian era.

“Thailand has Muay Thai, but we have our own martial art of Kbach Kun Boran Khmer,” said Mr Yavyen.

There are more than 1,000 registered boxers at 78 different clubs across the country, according to the Cambodian Amateur Box­ing Federation, double what existed in 2004.

Today, more than 500 fighters from across the country will compete in the eight-day National Box­ing Championship in Phnom Penh’s Olympic stadium, to establish the country’s best fighters.

 

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