KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Cambodia is set to make history when it hosts the SEA Games for the first time next year as it will be featuring 40 sports, including its national martial arts of kun bokator.

The South-East Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), in a statement today, said this will be the highest number of sports to be featured by a nation hosting the biennial Games for the first time since 1977.

Cambodia could still see an increase in the number of sports to be contested if the request for other sports, including pencak silat, is accepted at the SEAGF Council meeting, which is expected to be held in June.

As is the norm, the two compulsory sports - athletics and aquatics - lead the list confirmed for Cambodia 2023, which is the 32nd edition of the Games.

Water polo, which has been dropped from the aquatics discipline at next month’s Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam, is set to make a return in Phnom Penh.

A total of 28 sports have been confirmed under category two, which will see a mixture of Olympics, Asiad as well as traditional sports.

Under category three, the popular and fast-rising e-sports and jetski have been given the nod, as has kun bokator, while martial arts korea will also make its debut at the Games.

Several sports, including cricket, equestrian, pencak silat and obstacle race, have not been included and will have to wait for the next meeting to know their fate.

For the record, Brunei, Vietnam and Laos included 21, 32 and 29 sports respectively when they made their debut as SEA Games hosts.

Following are the 40 sports that will be contested at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia:

Category One: Athletics (track and field, marathon); Aquatics (swimming, diving, water polo).

Category 2: Badminton; Basketball (5x5 and 3x3); Boxing; Billiards; Cycling (road race and MTB); Canoe and rowing (including traditional boat race); Chess (Ok Chaktrong, Asean and Xiangxi); Dance Sports; Fencing; Football; Golf; Gymnastics (aerobics and artistic); Hockey (including indoor); Judo; Karate; Muay; Petanque; Sailing; Sepak Takraw (including chinlone); Soft Tennis; Tennis; Table Tennis; Taekwondo; Triathlon (including aquathlon and duathlon); Volleyball; Wrestling; Weightlifting; Wushu.

Category 3: Arnis; Body Building; E-sports; Floorball; Jiujitsu; Jetski; Kick Boxing; Kun Bokator;  Vovinam; Martial Arts Korea. — Bernama