SEA Games 2025: Foreign-heritage athletes add international flavour to regional meet
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Follow topic:
- Kieran Tuntivate, born to Thai and American parents, aims for three golds at the SEA Games, building on his previous wins for Thailand.
- Several athletes with mixed heritage are representing various countries, including Le in Vietnam and Zeng Jian in Singapore.
- Naturalisation is used to boost sporting chances, exemplified by Russian ice hockey players in Indonesia and Jackson Fowler representing Timor-Leste.
AI generated
Thailand: Kieran Tuntivate (athletics)
American-born Thai runner Kieran Tuntivate first became a household name in Thailand after winning two gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events at the 2019 SEA Games.
PHOTO: Instagram/kierunner
Born in Washington to a Thai father and American mother, Kieran Tuntivate became a household name in Thailand after winning two gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events at the 2019 SEA Games. He continued his rise at the 2023 Games, adding two more golds in the 1,500m and 5,000m.
Now 28 and a Harvard graduate, he is brimming with confidence as he eyes golds in three events – the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m – on home soil.
Vietnam: Viktor Le (football)
Born in 2003 to a Vietnamese father and a Russian mother, Viktor is a product of Russian giants CSKA Moscow's youth academy
PHOTO: Viktor Le Facebook
Born in Russia in 2003 to a Vietnamese father and a Russian mother, Viktor Le is a product of CSKA Moscow’s youth academy and moved to Vietnam in search of a professional career.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder, who was granted Vietnamese citizenship in December 2024, joined local side Quy Nhon United in 2023, flourished in domestic football and is now at Hong Linh Ha Tinh. He has already tasted success with Vietnam in 2025, with victory at the Asean Under-23 Championship in July.
Indonesia: Evgenii Nurislamov (ice hockey)
Evgenii Nurislamov is one of four Russian-born ice hockey players naturalised for Indonesia's SEA Games men's team.
PHOTO: Instagram/evgenynurislamovofficial
According to his Instagram page, Evgenii Nurislamov is the national team coach and has been in Indonesia since at least 2019.
With playing experience in America, the 43-year-old defender is also one of four Russian players – along with Savelii Molchanov, Artem Bezrukov and Adel Khabibullin – who were naturalised under a bilateral agreement in June to boost Indonesia’s chances of making the SEA Games podium for the first time and earning promotion from the Ice Hockey World Championship Division IV to the third tier.
This marks the first time the government has carried out naturalisation for ice hockey under the state interest mechanism, which had previously been applied only to football and basketball.
Cambodia: Margot Garabedian (triathlon)
French-born triathlete Margot Garabedian is a former aquathlon world champion who won SEA Games golds in aquathlon and triathlon for Cambodia in 2023.
PHOTO: Instagram/margot_garabedian
Born and raised in Grenoble, Margot Garabedian, 29, represented France until the end of 2022. She won the 2021 women’s aquathlon world title before switching allegiance to Cambodia in March 2023.
At her home Games in 2023, she clocked 1hr 5min 34sec to pip three-time defending champion Kim Mangrobang of the Philippines to the women’s individual triathlon gold medal, adding to her earlier women’s aquathlon gold.
Philippines: Ange Kouame (3x3 basketball)
Ivorian-born Ange Kouame won the 2022 Asian Games for his adopted country.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ANGELOKOUAME34
Born in the Ivory Coast’s Abidjan, the 2.11m French-speaking Ange Kouame attended the Ateneo de Manila University under a student-athlete scholarship from 2018. That was when his naturalisation process began after getting his mother’s blessings.
The 27-year-old became eligible to represent the Philippines in 2021 and went on to help his adopted country win their first Asian Games basketball gold since 1962, beating Jordan in the final of the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China.
Singapore: Zeng Jian (table tennis)
Born in Hunan, China, Zeng Jian is Singapore's top women's table tennis player and the only naturalised athlete in their SEA Games squad.
PHOTO: WORLD TABLE TENNIS
Born in Hunan, Zeng Jian came to Singapore as a sparring partner in 2014, before receiving citizenship in 2019.
The 29-year-old went to the Tokyo Olympics as a reserve before featuring at Paris 2024.
Once criticised for her suspect temperament, Zeng has improved to become the 2023 SEA Games women’s singles champion before claiming big scalps in Japan’s Mima Ito and Satsuki Odo in the lead-up to the 2025 Games.
Malaysia: Abdul Rahman Daud (football)
According to Malaysia publication, The Star, Abdul, who features in Malaysia’s Under-22 SEA Games football team, is born in Syria to a Malaysian father and Italian mother.
PHOTO: Football Association of Malaysia Facebook
Abdul Rahman, reported Malaysian media, is born in Syria to a Malaysian father and Italian mother. The 21-year-old Selangor II forward is currently the joint-top scorer of Malaysia’s A1 Semi-Pro League with 13 goals.
A strong performance in Thailand to help Malaysia secure its first football medal since 2017 could fast-track his rise to the senior team.
Laos: Ariana Dirkzwager (swimming)
American-born Ariana Dirkzwager represented Laos at the 2023 SEA Games and set a national record in the 200m freestyle.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ARIANADIRK
Born to an American father and Laotian mother in Kansas in 2004, Ariana Dirkzwager competes for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the collegiate level, where she is coached by Olympic gold medallist Courtney Shealy.
Dirkzwager began competing for Laos in 2023 and represented the country at the Games in Cambodia, where she became the first Laotian to make a swimming final and set a national record in the 200m freestyle. She then went on to represent Laos at the World Aquatics Championships and Paris Olympics in 2024.
Timor-Leste: Jackson Fowler (football)
According to a social media post by the Timor-Leste Football Federation in March, Jackson Fowler, 21 (left) and his 17-year-old brother Nicholas came forward to express their desire to represent the country.
PHOTO: Instagram/fftl.official
Jackson Fowler, 21, and his 17-year-old brother Nicholas offered to represent Timor-Leste in March, after seeing several Australian-born footballers make the switch recently.
Centre-back Jackson, whose father is Australian and mother of Timorese origin, currently plays for Sydney Olympic FC in the National Premier League New South Wales in Australia alongside forward Nicholas, and started in their 6-1 loss to Thailand and the memorable 3-1 victory over Singapore at the 2025 Games.
