Home or away

Cambodia 'at home' against Malaysia, face to their right

Cambodia 'away' against Thailand, face to the left for the national anthem

The national anthems of the two competing teams are played before each match and depending on whether you are the designated 'home' or 'away' team will determine which way you turn to face, and respect, both the national anthem and your flag. The flag is actually held on the ground by ball-boys rather than fluttering from a flagpole. It would be far more helpful for my photograph album if the players simply faced forward. Organisers please take note.
One of my pet hates is being played out at every game at this SEA Games. When a player goes down injured, the referees' automatically call on the stretcher-bearers who invariably arrive at the player before the physio, man-handle him onto the stretcher before any initial assessment of the injury is made. This happens at all the CPL games in Phnom Penh too and is basically an accident waiting to happen. The stretcher guys are less qualified to do the job than my pet cat (if I had one) and the day they aggrevate a broken leg or a ruptured cruciate ligament is the day when the football authorities might just wake up to this unacceptable practice. Someone, please stop this nonsense. I've spoken to the head doctor who attends some of the CPL games and he agrees with me 100%. I wish someone would listen before someone suffers.
Two more medals this afternoon, both in taekwondo, which makes 4 in all to-date. This time we went one better and grabbed two silvers for Sorn Eliot (who won a bronze in the last SEA Games in Khorat) and So Naro, in the heavyweight and middleweight sections respectively. Taekwondo is proving to be a fruitful medal sport for the Khmer contingent.
My match report from the Malaysia game is in today's Phnom Penh Post.
Cambodia fail to advance here.