'Aiyawatt' and 'Apichet' of King Power lead Thai polo team to historic gold for country and their late father 'Vichai'

Two brothers, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Executive Chairman of King Power Group and chairman of Leicester City Football Club, and Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha, Assistant Chief Operating Officer and Acting Chief Resource Management Officer of King Power Group, heirs to the King Power retail and duty-free empire, have led Thailand’s national polo team to a historic gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games. Both were visibly emotional, saying the victory was dedicated to Thailand and to their late father, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who helped establish the Thailand Polo Association.

“Horse polo”, one of the world’s oldest sports dating back around 600 years before Christ, originated in Persia before spreading eastward. During the colonial era, British officers in India adopted the game and developed modern rules and club structures, turning polo into an organised international sport.

In Thailand, polo was first introduced during the reign of King Rama VI, but for many years it remained confined to royal circles, elites and expatriates. The high cost of buying and caring for horses, maintaining fields and training meant the sport gradually faded from public view.

It was Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (1958–2018), founder of King Power Group and founding president of the Thailand Polo Association, who saw polo’s potential and worked to bring it back into Thai sporting life. Under his drive and support, the association was set up and recognised by the Sports Authority of Thailand, and polo was included in the programme of the 24th SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima in 2007.

“Playing polo is about spending time with the people you love,” Vichai once said.

Though still a niche discipline, polo has returned to the regional stage at SEA Games 2025, hosted by Thailand, where it again stands out as a sport with a distinctive charm.

Beyond teamwork and the delicate balance needed to control mallet, ball and horse at speed, polo demands a blend of speed, accuracy, strength, intense concentration and high-level strategy in both attack and defence. Split-second decisions in the right moment can flip a match on a single counter-attack. All of this must be done under strict rules designed to protect players and horses from dangerous collisions and serious injury.

On December 10, 2025, at VS Sports Club & Siam Polo Park in Samut Prakan, the Thai national polo team, managed by Kanoksak Pinsaeng and led on the field by brothers Aiyawatt (King Power Group Executive Chairman and Leicester City FC chairman) and Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha (Assistant Chief Operating Officer and Acting Chief Resource Management Officer at King Power), clinched a historic SEA Games gold medal with a resounding 7.5–0 victory over Brunei.

Polo was first played at the SEA Games at the 24th edition in Nakhon Ratchasima, where Thailand took bronze. At the 29th SEA Games, Malaysia won gold and Thailand took silver.

This year’s triumph is therefore a milestone – a moment of deep pride for Aiyawatt and Apichet, whose team executed the game plan perfectly to win gold for Thailand and in honour of their late father, Vichai, the man who laid the foundations for polo’s revival in the country.

“We wanted to do this for our father as well,” said Aiyawatt. “He was the one who started this sport in Thailand. We really wanted this gold medal – and today we did it.”