Cambodia to send 230 athletes for 26th SEA GAMES in Indonesia

  PHNOM PENH, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will send approximately 230 athletes to take part in the 26th Southeast Asian Games (SEA GAMES) in Indonesia in November, said a senior sports official on Thursday.
   The athletes will contest in 20 types of sports at the SEA GAMES, Vath Chamroeun, Secretary- General of Cambodia’s National Olympic Committee, told reporters on Thursday.
   The country has high hope that its athletes will win more medals in the upcoming tournaments than those they earned in the previous SEA GAMES, he said, adding that in the previous SEA GAMES, the country earned 40 medals, but only 3 in gold.
   “We expect more medals this time, especially in Pétanque, wrestling and taekwondo,” he said.
   The government of Cambodia generally provides 6,000 U.S. dollars for a gold medal winner, 4,000 U.S. dollars to the silver medal winner and 2,000 U.S. dollars to the bronze medal winners, he said. 
   The 26th SEA GAMES will be held from Nov. 11 to 22 in Indonesia. Eleven countries will send their sportsmen for the event. They are all the ten ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste.