Cambodian athletes have done the country proud after winning four gold medals among a total haul of 22 at Saturday’s culmination of the fifth annual World Vovinam Championship in New Delhi.
It’s the first time the national team has brought home multiple golds in the full-contact, Vietnamese mixed martial art, in which fighters use kicks, punches, wrestling and weaponry to engage opponents in defensive combat.
Cambodia also won nine silver and nine bronze medals from its team of eight men and four women, finishing third overall among 45 countries in the five day competition behind Vietnam and Algeria.
Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, said the gold medal wins were a promising achievement for the country, which is set to host the same championships in 2019.
“We are all happy and proud…. Before we only got one [gold medal]. This is a big encouragement for the sport,” he said.
The win comes ahead of the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur on August 19, where 170 Cambodian athletes will compete in the 12-day athletic event.