In the morning of February 5, 2026, at the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), H.E. Dr. Thong Khon, along with NOCC leaders, met to discuss the tasks with Mr. Maxim Zubachev, an international SAMBO coach and representative of the Asian SAMBO Federation, to strengthen cooperation and promote the development of SAMBO in Cambodia.
In this meeting, Mr. Maxim Zubachev requested the support from NOCC for the initiative to establish a “National SAMBO Federation” in Cambodia to develop athlete resources and improve training capabilities. He also stated that, the Asian SAMBO Federation and the International SAMBO Federation (FIAS) will be ready to support Cambodia in sending international-level coaches to train in the country and providing necessary training equipment.
In response, H.E. Dr. Thong Khon expressed his support for the initiative to establish the National SAMBO Federation to urge the development of martial arts in Cambodia. He stated that this cooperation is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and the Russia Olympic Committee signed in 2025. He also hopes that this initiative will contribute to the development of Cambodian martial arts, leading to win medals for Nation in the international sports events in the future.
It should be confirmed that, SAMBO is a self-defense martial art that originated in 1938 in the Soviet Union (now Russia). The International SAMBO Federation (FIAS) is fully recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). And now FIAS has 106 member national federations. In that, SAMBO has also been included in several events under the OCA framework, including the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games and the Asian Beach Games, and has also been included in the Asian Games. Meanwhile, SAMBO has also been decided by the OCA to be included in the 2029 Asian Youth Games in Uzbekistan.
