SEA Games 32 closing

Unlike the opening day, the closing ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games took place more simply with a duration of less than 120 minutes. In particular, the speech of the officials alone took 40 minutes, accounting for a third of the program. Cambodia reviewed the memorable events at the Games, announced the typical athletes and awarded the right to host the next Games to Thailand.

Vietnam finished the Games for the first time at number one in the overall table when playing abroad, with 136 gold, 105 silver and 114 bronze medals. The delegation also achieved the highest performance with the ratio of gold medals to total medals reaching 38%, compared to the second group of Thailand 35%. Vietnam also marched for the first time in the closing ceremony, although most athletes returned home because their competitions ended early.

Eight athletes won four or more gold medals at the 32nd SEA Games, including six Singaporean swimmers Quah Ting Wen, Quah Zheng Wen, Quah Jing Wen, Jonathan Tan, Letitia Sim and Gan Ching Hwee. The other two athletes who won four gold medals are Nguyen Thi Oanh and Pal Chhor Raksmy (Cambodia). Oanh is the athlete with the most gold medals in athletics, while Raksmy leads the gold medal in vovinam.

However, Oanh is not in the group of typical athletes voted by the organizers. The two chosen are both female, namely Ting Wen and Raksmy. Ting Wen is the athlete who won the most gold medals at the SEA Games with six gold medals, including four individual golds and two team golds. Raksmy is the host athlete who won the most gold medals with four in vovinam martial arts performance.

In the closing art program of the 32nd SEA Games, the host impressed with the image of two mascots including a male rabbit named Borey and a female rabbit named Rumduol flying into the air as if to say goodbye to the audience. Below, artists take turns performing traditional martial arts bokator, or Cambodian Royal dances like in the opening ceremony.

After Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the end of the SEA Games, drops of water appeared in the sky, falling on the torch, letting it gradually go out. The flag of the Southeast Asian Olympic Committee was also pulled down, then presented by the host representative to Thailand - the host country of the next Games in December 2025.

Cambodia closed the first time hosting the SEA Games with thanks to countries in the region. They evaluated the Congress as a great success, with such hallmarks as free accommodation for the participating delegations, or the large coverage of the contests offered by the host free of television royalties. The host closed the SEA Games with the fourth position of the whole team, the highest in history.