The competition of the 6th World Kun Khmer Championship 2025 officially opened in the evening of February 10, 2026 at the Poy Tamong Court in Preah Sihanouk City, under the Presidency of H.E. Dr. Senior Minister Thong Khon, President of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC).
According to the report of the organizing commission, this annual event will be held from February 10-13, with a total of 125 athletes from 20 participating countries, including Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, France, Germany, England, Spain, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Cameroon, Mauritius, and the host country, Cambodia.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, H.E. Dr. Thong Khon expressed a warm welcome to the presence of delegates and athletes of Kun Khmer from all countries who participated in this year’s World Kun Khmer Championship at the beautiful beach area in Preah Sihanouk Province.
He said, “The Event of the World Kun Khmer Championship at this time is not only to promote Kun Khmer to the world, but also to urge promoting of tourism sector under the theme “Cambodia is a safe and welcoming tourist destination,” especially in the beautiful coastal area of Preah Sihanouk Province, which we have named the Star of the Southwest and a full member of the most beautiful beach club in the world.”
Kun Khmer has a long history that dates back thousands of years and has inscriptions on the walls of many ancient Khmer temples left by Khmer ancestors, which clearly show the history of Kun Khmer. His Excellency hopes that after the competition, all delegates and athletes will take the time to travel to see these inscriptions in person in Siem Reap Province.
His Excellency continued that, with the support, attention and direct leadership of Samdech Techo Hun Sen, former Prime Minister and currently President of the Senate, and continued by Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, Kun Khmer has been preserved and developed toward where it is worthy of pride, until receiving strongly supported and recognized both nationally and internationally. In this regard, NOCC has always participated in developing traditional sports of national identity in line with the standards of the Olympic movement, until receiving successfully including Kun Khmer and Kun Lbokator in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
H.E. Dr. Senior Minister Thong Khon added that, “We strongly hope that with the high attention of the Head of the Royal Government, under the dynamic leadership of Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister, and close cooperation between NOCC with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Kun Khmer Federation, the International Kun Khmer Federation, and the member countries of the Kun Khmer Federation, the Kun Khmer Sport will be able to achieve official recognition from the International Olympic Movement in the future.”
It should be noted that, the event of the 6th World Kun Khmer Championship was initially scheduled to be held on December 17-20, 2025, but due to border issues, NOCC decided to postpone the event to early February 2026. For Kun Khmer delegates of participating countries have increased by 2 countries, if compared to 2024, which had only 18 countries participated in Siem Reap province. There are 50 competing disciplines, and divided into amateur, semi-professional, and professional levels.
