Bangkok: Cambodia has announced a significant reduction in the number of athletes it will send to the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, with the final count standing at just 57 participants.

According to Thai News Agency, this decision marks a departure from Cambodia’s initial plan to send around 1,700 athletes and officials to the event, which will be hosted by Thailand later this year.

Mr. Thana Chaiprasit, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, chaired a recent meeting regarding preparations for the SEA Games. The meeting, held at the Olympic Office at Baan Amphawan in Bangkok, focused on athlete allowance expenses and preparations for the 50 sports and 574 events planned for the games. It was confirmed that Thai athletes will participate in all sports categories, with the current roster comprising 2,134 athletes and 652 officials.

Other countries have also submitted their preliminary athlete counts, with Malaysia registering 1,824 athletes and 452 officials, Vietnam sending 863 athletes, Singapore with 1,973 athletes, and Myanmar with 749. Meanwhile, nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, and Timor-Leste have requested a two-week extension for their submissions, with a final deadline set for September 1st.

Mr. Thana Chaiprasit further explained that the current numbers are preliminary and subject to change until the final submission date. The delay in finalizing rosters is partly due to ongoing assessments of event categories and safety concerns in Thailand, as nations aim to prevent strategic advantages by withholding complete information until closer to the deadline.