Thai politics just had a major turning point when on August 29, the Constitutional Court of Thailand sentenced Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to violate the constitution and immediately remove him from office. This raises concerns about the impact on Thailand's organization of the 33rd SEA Games in December 2025.
According to Bangkok Post, some sports associations in Thailand have been concerned about the possibility of Thailand canceling the event. Last year, Thailand also canceled the host of the Asian indoor Sports and Martial Arts Festival. That has affected Thailand's reputation.
Mr. Sorawong affirmed that the 33rd SEA Games will be held and the Thai government will comprehensively support this event. He also called on Thai athletes to do their best to achieve good results at the upcoming event.
Meanwhile, Preecha Lalun, Deputy Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), confirmed that only 29 sports were covered live throughout the SEA Games.
This decision caused many sports associations such as badminton, boxing and polo, which are promising sports, to win medals and be at a disadvantage.
The 33rd SEA Games is expected to have the participation of 11,677 athletes, of which host Thailand has the largest number of athletes with 1,813 people. Indonesia will send 1,640 athletes, while Malaysia will have 1,578 athletes.
The 33rd SEA Games will take place from December 9 to 20 in Bangkok, Chon buri and Songkhla, with 50 events. In total, 574 sets of medals will be awarded. Thailand aims to win over 200 gold medals and top the group.
The 2025 SEA Games will be the seventh time Thailand has hosted the event, with Bangkok hosting it in 29, 1967, 1975 and 1985. This will be the first time Chon buri and Songkhla have become the co-chingchingching cities of the tournament every two years.
For Thai athletes, they will be awarded quite generously if they achieve high results at the 33rd SEA Games. Accordingly, the gold medal winner will receive 500,000 baht (more than 400 million VND), the silver medal winner will receive 250,000 baht (more than 200 million VND) and the bronze medal winner will receive 125,000 baht (more than 100 million VND).
