President applauds national athletes
President Thein Sein offered words of encouragement to the national football team which failed to win the men's football final match of the 28th South East Asian Games (SEA Games) on Monday night.
Myanmar won the second place after it lost to Thailand with a score of 0-3. This year was the first in which Myanmar reached the final round in football in the SEA Games since 2007. It was the third time that Myanmar was defeated by Thailand in the men's football final, following victories at the 1993 and 2007 Games.
An official said that the president extended warm words to the athletes over the phone. He also spoke with Myanmar’s sport minister, who was in Singapore on Tuesday.
On Monday evening before the match started, in a televised programme the president also applauded and encouraged the Myanmar athletes, all aged under 23. It was the first time a Myanmar head-of-state offered encouragement directly to a football team representing the country.
The president said: “Dear all players of Myanmar, as we all know, the Myanmar team will compete in the 28th SEA Games in Singapore. All Myanmar citizens, including me, are very glad that the Myanmar team is participating in this historic final match. I believe the players will honour Myanmar with their team spirit. All the Myanmar people support our team. Also, all Myanmar people, including me, hope the players will bring us victory.”
The president and other high-level government officials also congratulated the team when it beat Vietnam in the semi-final football match.
Presidential spokesperson Ye Htut and senior President’s office official Zaw Htay posted statuses, comments and news on their Facebook pages throughout Myanmar’s participation in the SEA Games.
Vice-president Nyan Tun and his staff visited the hotel where the U-23 players stayed and shared words of support while the vice-president was in Singapore.
