Thais seek revenge in Games opener

Prapol yesterday led his team in their first training session since arriving in Indonesia for the biennial under23 competition. The Thais, who were crowned Games champions eight consecutive times before their winning run ended in Laos two years ago, will launch their groupstage campaign with a tricky tie against defending champions Malaysia tomorrow.
The former Bangkok United coach believes the team’s preparation for the tournament is hindered by limited time in daily training.  
“We are only allowed to train once a day. I don’t think it’s enough for my team. We’re considering asking them to provide another pitch so we can train more each day. 
“In our first session, we focused on tactics for attack. We mostly kept to light training to allow players to recover from the journey.”
Lifting Prapol’s mood somewhat was some good news on the injury front. A fasterthanexpected recovery means Sriracha FC defender Sujarit Jantakol is expected to play against Malaysia.
“I’m optimistic about the progress of Sujarit’s ankle injury. I think he should be fine by the time we face the Malaysians.”
As one of three survivors from the side that suffered a premature exit in Laos, Sujarit is keen to avenge the defeat that resulted in the Thais’ shock exit at the last Games.
“I really want to play against Malaysia. I was a member of the team that lost to them in Laos. I still feel the pain of that elimination,” said Sujarit.
 “Talking with Ukrit Wongmeena and Theerathon Bunmathan, the other two survivors, we all agree that revenge would be a huge motivation if we had another chance to play against the Malaysians.”