Thais stun hosts with clean sweep in takraw

The onesided victory started with a 15-4 15-7 win from the A team, followed by a 15-7 15-12 victory by the B team. Only the C team were made to work for three sets, before prevailing 15-9 14-16 15-11.
Thailand’s four golds from sepak takraw – three from the men’s and women’s regu teams and one from the women’s team event – easily exceeds their original target of two golds. The squad opted to skip the doubles competition at this Games.
“This is more than we expected as we were less confident in the regu events. It could well be the result of our extended training for the Games, which lasted five months,’’ said team manager Tawat Kumutpongpanich.
Head coach Kamol Tankimhong was also thrilled with an achievement made all the more unlikely by the fact that several of his players were hit by injuries.
“It was difficult to arrange the lineups when players got injured. But the first team got off to a great start, which made things more comfortable for the rest of the squad. We faced stiff resistance from Indonesia, who had the edge over us at times, but we were able to finish off points which was the key,’’ said Kamol.
The team will return home on Sunday and receive around Bt10.2 million in incentive bonuses from the government.