Backed by Bt300m war chest, Thai athletes eye gold
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The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) has targeted a haul of 13 to 15 gold medals during the two weeks of competition at the 17th Asian Games, in South Korea, where a 780-strong delegation of Thai athletes and officials will be backed by a "war chest" of
After hearing the assessments of sports associations and Thai Chef de Mission Thana Chaiprasit, acting SAT governor Montri Chaiphun is confident Thailand will improve on the 11 golds it won at the previous Games in Guangzhou. But that confidence isn’t shared by Olympic Committee of Thailand chief Charouck Arirachakaran, who says 10 golds is a more realistic target.
“We don’t want to heap pressure on the athletes, but after a final discussion with the chef de mission and sports associations, 13-15 golds are possible,” said the SAT chief.
Although both Montri and Charouck have different overall targets, both remain rock-solid in their conviction that the sepak takraw team will repeat their 2010 success and claim all four golds on offer. Other opportunities for Thai gold are in track and field, weightlifting, taekwondo, boxing, skeet and trap shooting and sailing. Montri expects about 27 medals in all from over 500 athletes the country is sending to the Games.
The Sports Authority has invested over Bt180 million in preparing the athletes, some Bt100 million to send them to the Games and the remainder for other expenditures including Thai House – the headquarters providing medical treatment and meals to Thai athletes at the Golden Incheon Hotel, in the host city.
SAT chief Montri says the athletes are 100 per cent ready for the Games. Each Thai team will arrive in Incheon at least three days ahead of their competition, with the women’s soccer squad first to fly in for their opening match on September 14, five days before the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile Thana will leave for South Korea on Monday for the Games registration meeting to make sure all the Thai athletes are cleared to compete.
A decision has yet to be made on who will carry the Thai flag during the opening ceremony, but The Thai Chef de Mission says national football coach Kiartisak Senamuang has been contacted about the possibility of one of his players shouldering the honour as the soccer team will be among the first Thai arrivals in Incheon.
“The athlete who carries the flag is not supposed to be in competition the next morning as the ceremony can take up to six hours. But we are open for suggestions from other associations who think their athletes deserve the honour. We will we come up with a name after discussions in Incheon.”
Soccer coach Kiartisak yesterday nominated Kawin Thamsatchanan to become the delegation’s flag-bearer during the opening ceremony on September 19.
Kawin was quick to respond: “It would be a great honour in my life to lead the Thai delegation into the stadium. I’m delighted with that.”
Meanwhile HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn granted the delegation, led by Olympic Committee of Thailand chief Yutthasak Sasiprapa, an audience at Chitralada Palace ahead of their departure for Incheon.
Earlier, the athletes visited Royal Thai Navy Chief Admiral Narong Pipattanasai, deputy chairman of the National Council for Peace and Order, to receive his good wishes for the competition ahead.
