Cambodia pulls out of 8 sports

Flood-hit Songkhla stripped of 10 events

- TOR CHITTINAND

Cambodia has officially withdrawn from eight of the 21 sports it had earlier confirmed to compete in at next month’s Southeast Asian Games, including football, citing “significant security concerns.”

The confirmation comes hot on the heels of Thailand's decision to relocate 10 sporting events of the Games from Songkhla to Bangkok and Chon Buri following severe flooding in the southern province.

Songkhla, one of three provinces originally designated to host the 2025 SEA Games, has been hit by some of the region’s worst floods in years.

The Games are scheduled to officially begin on Dec 9, with Songkhla initially assigned to stage chess, kabaddi, men’s football (Group B), judo, karate, wrestling, pencak silat, wushu, muay Thai and petanque.