SEA Games 32 closes

The closing ceremony began with greetings from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodian artists then sang the song “See You Again,” followed by a performance of Cambodian traditional martial art bokator, which was an official sport in competition at the SEA Games for the first time this year.

Athletes from 11 nations smiled and waved at the crowd as they walked across the stadium in celebration of the 10-day competition.

Thong Khon, President of the Southeast Asian Sports Federation, congratulated Cambodia for hosting a successful SEA Games.

Rumduol, the mascot of the 32nd SEA Games, performs with dancers. Photo by VnExpress

This was the first SEA Games in which the host country did not charge participants for accommodation, which was estimated to have cost Cambodia a total of $6 million.

Vietnam won more medals than any other nation at this year’s games, totaling 136 gold on the final day of competition on Tuesday.

It was the third time that the Vietnam sports delegation has topped the SEA Games final medal tally. It was the first time they did it as a participating country and not as a host.

Thailand finished second with 108 gold medals.Swimmer Quah Ting Wen (Singapore) won the most gold medals at the games with 6.

Her brother and sister – Quah Zheng Wen and Quah Jing Wen, respectively – also won five gold medals each in swimming events.

Vietnamese athletes wave to the audience. Photo by VnExpress

In track and field, Nguyen Thi Oanh topped the medal tally with four gold medals: in the 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m hurdles.

Four other athletes won four or more gold medals at the 32nd SEA Games, includung three Singaporean swimmers: Jonathan Tan, Letitia Sim and Gan Ching Hwee.

The other athletes to win four gold medals was Pal Chhor Raksmy from Cambodia. Raksmy won the medals in vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts) competitions.

The 33rd SEA Games will take place in Thailand in December 2025.