The Cambodian Fencing Team Needs to Participate in More International Competitions and Focus on a Single Weapon Discipline

New Delhi, 23 June 2026

The 4th day of the competition was also the final day for the Cambodian national fencing team at the 2026 Asian Senior Fencing Championship. Based on the tournament results, our male and female fencers have not yet performed as well as expected, despite the presence of world-class and Olympic-level athletes in the competition.

Mr. Sok Ang, the coach who participated in this event, stated that prior to joining, they were aware that the level of this competition would feature World and Olympic medalists. Therefore, they did not expect to win any medals; rather, their expectation was to achieve a good result that would translate into winning medals at the Southeast Asian level. "Before coming, we expected our fencer Olga to reach the 1/8 round and maintain her top ranking at the Southeast Asian level. In reality, she was able to maintain her regional ranking, but only reached the 1/16 round," Mr. Sok Ang remarked after the competition concluded.

He further added that for Hai Sreysros, Men Monica, Phat Lyka, and Khoeun Tima, the expectation was to advance past the pool stage and defeat some regional competitors, but the results completely missed these expectations. Mr. Sok Ang emphasized, "It is very hard to blame them. Even though the federation has organized more domestic competitions since 2024 and allowed foreign fencers to participate, their experience competing abroad, and especially their mindset when facing world-class and Olympic-class fencers, is still lacking." He added: "This is the 3rd time since the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 that these three female fencers have participated in an international-level competition, and it is the 1st time for Tima."

Lyka stated: "There have been many competitions, but because the federation did not have the means to send us to compete, we lost opportunities and could not gain experience from certain international tournaments." She added: "This is a huge obstacle for us; it is like a student who goes to school but does not take proficiency tests to prepare for semester exams, annual exams, and the high school diploma exam."