Bangkok: Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, known as Refrigerator, a prominent female volleyball player for the Vietnamese national team, will not participate in the 33rd SEA Games hosted by Thailand.
According to Thai News Agency, reports from the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee reveal that Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, a key player in the Vietnam women's national volleyball team, will be absent from the squad for the 2025 SEA Games. This comes despite her significant contribution to the team's victory in the second "CV League 2025" tournament against Thailand.
The Vietnam Volleyball Federation did not register Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, or Refrigerator, a 25-year-old player, before the organizers closed the registration on September 15th. Consequently, she is unable to compete in the 2025 SEA Games. Nguyen was previously a participant in the 2021 SEA Games held in Vietnam, where her team finished as runner-up. This situation follows her absence from the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship in Thailand.
During an August meeting of SEA Games delegation leaders, Chaiphak Siriwat, CEO of the SEA Games Federation, confirmed that gender testing would be conducted at the event, following requests from several countries. The testing method will be determined by each federation.