By Chris McAsey

Cambodia didn’t take home any silverware from the AFL Asia Cup in December, but if there was a prize for ‘punching above your weight’ they would have a strong claim on the title.

Finishing runner-up in both the men’s and women’s competitions was an outstanding result given Cambodia’s relatively small population. But despite a lack of size – in both population and often in stature – the Cambodian teams played with an irrepressible ‘never say die’ spirit.

And no one embodied that spirit more than Cambodian women’s ruck Puthyda ‘Thyda’ Prom. Thyda carried the lion’s share of ruck duties for her country throughout the tournament, usually competing against taller and stronger athletes, before suffering a serious knee injury in the Grand Final against Thailand.

Thyda (left) often competed against taller and stronger athletes in the ruck.

Thyda’s inspirational efforts throughout the competition were recognised by selection in the All Asian team and being named Cambodia’s MVP.

Assistant coach Randi Dunne said it was no coincidence that Thyda being stretchered off the ground in the Grand Final coincided with Thailand coming from behind to win the first AFL Asia Cup.

‘Thailand didn’t kick a goal while Thyda was on the field,’ he says. ‘We really missed her guts, leadership, poise and determination.’

Thyda (middle) gives her all every time she steps on the field.

Thyda has only been playing footy since 2022 and credits dedicated coaches and strong camaraderie within the Cambodian squad for her rapid development.

‘Hannah (women’s coach Hannah Slaughter) and Cookie (men’s coach Peter Kokke) are the best coaches.’

‘We train with the men and sometimes play practice games together. There’s so much encouragement and motivation from our coaches and the men’s team.’

Thyda is also self-motivated in her commitment to becoming a better player.

‘I want to be a good player to contribute my best to the team,’ she says. ‘So I also train by myself and watch games and skills videos on TikTok and YouTube.’

Eyes on the ball: Thyda takes a mark during the match against China.

‘You have to keep wanting to get better and to ask questions.’

Randi says Thyda is the ‘ultimate professional’ and a great role model on and off the field.

‘Her best trait is that she is always working on her game, always improving,’ he says.

‘Thyda had never won a best and fairest or been selected in any rep teams before. Asia Cup was the most important tournament we’ve ever played in and she came out of nowhere, played ruck for the first time and dominated.’

Cruelly, Thyda’s knee injury will put a halt on her footy journey for quite some time. She will travel to Thailand in the coming days for an operation on her knee, after scans showed a complete tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), partial tears of the Medial Cruciate Ligament (MCL) and Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL), a double meniscus tear and fractured tibia.

Still smiling! Thyda missed the presentation of her All Asian jumper after being taken to hospital. She was later presented with her jumper on the bus back to Phnom Penh.

While Thyda is in for a long recovery, she has all the right qualities to get back on field. She says she loves footy because it engages ‘every part of your body and mind’.

‘You use everything mentally and physically, whether it’s for kicking, tackling, your hand to eye co-ordination, reading the field.’

‘Aussie rules football is kind of complicated and it’s a really tough game. Your mind has to be strong.’

‘But we love it and we enjoy getting stronger than we could have imagined.’

Randi says Thyda is the ‘type of player that coaches want a team full of’.’

‘She is high energy, no nonsense, 100% effort, and never, ever quits.’

From everyone in the AFL Asia community – we wish Thyda a speedy recovery and hope to see her back on field at next year’s Asia Cup.