Two young competitors meet at the 2025 Youth Wrestling Tournament, which was sponsored by Casey Barnett. Supplied
Casey Barnett, vice-president of the Cambodian Wrestling Federation, has lauded the success of last weekend’s 2025 Youth Wrestling Competition.
He described the tournament — held on Sunday at the National Sports Complex — as a key step in the development of young talent, especially as the Kingdom is targeting medals when it hosts Asian Youth Games in 2029.
Barnett noted that all of the kids competed with enthusiasm, and expected that the event would be a major driver in the development of elite athletes who may one day bring home medals for the nation.
“I’m very happy to see these young people enjoying their training and participating in such an active way. They’re showing pride in competing for medals and building friendships with peers from other provinces,” he said.
He emphasised that this is a crucial step in the development of Cambodian wrestling.
“If we want success internationally, we have to start with the youth. We make it fun for them to join in, and they’ll keep growing their skills,” he explained.
Cambodian Wrestling Federation vice-president Casey Barnett (left) stands alongside some of the tournament medallists. Supplied
As president of the Southeast Asian Wrestling Federation, Barnett also noted that the quality of participants in this year’s youth competition was noticeably higher than in previous editions.
He attributed this to better coaching and increased support from the federation, including the provision of equipment and training facilities to clubs in several provinces, meaning wrestling is being more widely promoted, even in rural communities.
Because of these improvements, Casey believed the competition represents strong forward momentum in the development of Cambodia’s talent pool. He hoped that among the many youth athletes, some will emerge as top-tier talents capable of winning gold when Cambodia hosts the Asian Youth Games for the first time in 2029.
“Some of these young athletes could become gold medallists at the 2029 Asian Youth Games. That’s why we’ll keep supporting youth wrestling events. In the next five years, we hope to see high-level skills emerge that can compete with neighbouring countries,” added Barnett, who personally sponsored the tournament.
The April 6 Youth Wrestling Competition saw the participation of 108 male and 53 female athletes. Seventeen clubs competed, with eight winning gold medals, two taking silver, five taking bronze and two clubs finishing without any medals.
