• Society

Cambodia Para-Swimmers Pin Hopes on Medals

• By Teng Yalirozy
• June 1, 2023 1:00 PM

PHNOM PENH – Sixteen Cambodian Paralympic swimmers will compete in the 12th ASEAN Para Games in Phnom Penh in June. The coaches and athletes have spoken about their commitment and hope to win gold medals.

Coach Hem Thon Vitiny said the number of para-swimmers had increased from 10 to 16, which was a positive sign for para-swimming in Cambodia.

Most suffer from paralysis with one having tetra-amelia syndrome. Some of them met an accident at work. One was a construction worker who tripped and fell, causing him to lose function in his legs.

Vitiny said the Swimming Federation welcomes people with all types of disability, such as mental and visual impairment, to join the team. But Cambodia has not had any para-swimmers with those types of disability.

Coach Hem Thon Vitiny has high hope for Cambodian Para-swimmers. Photo: Kim Makara

Asked how different it is between training para-athletes and training non-disabled athletes, she said there is a small difference in the process but the swimming styles — butterfly, freestyles, backstroke, and frog kick — were the same.

“Difficulties always exist because people with disabilities, unlike people without disabilities,” she said. “We have to focus on health issues and their acceptance of programs.”

Ngov Chreb, 43, a para-swimmer from Battambang province, became paralysed in both legs after an accident 20 years ago.

She said she was excited to represent Cambodia in the Games as it is her first time. Having trained for four months, she hopes to win a medal for the country.

“My only wish is to see the flag of Cambodia raised up high,” she said.

She used to be a para-basketball player but pursued swimming due to her health condition, saying she gets fresher and more energized when she swims.

Asked how confident she is in winning, Chreb said that she is a new para-swimmer. Thus, she has a 50 percent hope of getting medals.

Ngov Chreb, a para-swimmer from Battambang province, said she is excited to represent Cambodia in the games for the first time. Photo: Kim Makara

“My goal is to win gold,” she said. “Losing or winning is a normal thing as it is the nature of the competition. I appeal to the people to show support to us.”

Pich Yaray, a swimmer with tetra-amelia syndrome, joined the team in 2008 and competed in Malaysia and Singapore.

Yaray said he will bring out his best in the hope of winning in the 12th Para Games as he has been training every day.​ But, the chance is uncertain as he said he has the rare disability type which is barely seen in para-swimmers.

“All I can say is that I will try my best,” he said.

Coach Hem Thon Vitiny said she had faith in the para-swimmers. In last year’s Para Games in Indonesia, Cambodia won three silver and five bronze medals. She and the team are aiming for gold and more medals in the 12th Games.

The swimmers give her motivation to train and keep cultivating potential para-swimmers, she said.

Pich Yaray is a para-swimmer with tetra-amelia syndrome. Photo: Teng Yalirozy

“They are amazing, and what I want to see is that they can fly the flag even when they are in a wheelchair,” said Vitiny. “This year we are the host, a year that we are worried, and a year we need to be careful all the time.”

The Games will run from June 3 to 9 and will see 429 competitions from 14 sports: Para-athletics, para-swimming, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, para-tennis, para-badminton, five-a-side and seven-a-aside football, para-goalball, and para-powerlifting, which will take place in Morodok Techo National Stadium.

Para-judo athletes will compete at the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, while boccia competitions will take place at the National Sports Training Center.

The chess tournament will be organized at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and E-sport at Naga World II.