Prawit raises Asian Games gold target
DEPUTY PRIME Minister Prawit Wongsuwan expects the Kingdom to produce more than 12 gold medals during the Asian Games from August 18 to September 2 in Indonesia.
Speaking yesterday to a Bangkok gathering of the Olympic Committee of Thailand in his capacity as its president, Prawit said he believed the athletes would better their performance at the 2014 Games in South Korea, where Thailand clinched 12 golds.
“Asian Games athletes have been selected and have been training continuously without any problems. We hope they will perform better this year,” said Prawit.
Thailand’s gold medal hopes in the 18th episode of the Games rest with sepak takraw, weightlifting, taekwondo, boxing, badminton, sailing and golf. The Kingdom’s best ever performance was at the 1998 edition in Bangkok, with 24 gold medals won.
Prawit added that Bangkok would this month see a visit from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who will attend the SportAccord Convention taking place from April 15-20. Bach will also observe national athletes train at the Sports Authority of Thailand, and Prawit is expected to take the opportunity to discuss with him the possibility of Thailand hosting the Youth Olympic Games in 2022.
IOC member Pattama Leeswadtrakul announced yesterday a festival to promote some 15 demonstration sports would be held in front of Bangkok’s CentralWorld mall from April 17-19.
“This is a chance for Thailand to prove that we can host a big international event, which can pave the way for us to organise bigger sporting events in the future,” said Pattama, also the Thai Badminton Association president.
Meanwhile, Prawit said Thailand was close to signing a deal with Fifa to broadcast the World Cup from Russia in June. He added that the TV channels offering free broadcast of the football tournament for Thai fans would be revealed this week.
