Thais settle for silver as Asian Games organisers indulge in shady practice
Five-time Asian Championships winner Vipavee Deekaballes had to be content with the silver medal in the Asian Games downhill yesterday after being allowed severely limited time to get accustomed to the venue in Subang, Indonesia.
The 27-year-old Chiang Mai cyclist clocked 2:42.654 minutes, nearly 10 seconds behind gold medallist Tiara Andini Prasktika of Indonesia, while bronze went to another host rider, Nining Pornwaningsih (2:42.664).
Vipavee was allowed to train for just three hours on Sunday and only briefly again yesterday as organisers claimed they had no alternative to close the area “due to inclement weather”.
Vipavee Deekaballes
“I came to the race well aware of my disadvantage compared to the Indonesian cyclists. I’m sorry I couldn’t win but I’m also happy as this is my first medal in the Asian Games. I gave my all out there,” said Vipavee, who won the Asian Championships in 2011, and from 2015-18.
Cycling Association of Thailand Decha Hemkrasri also revealed that both South Korea and Japan had withdrawn from the downhill and crosscountry events, claiming unfair practice by the organisers.
“We proved that despite all tactics by the hosts, we still managed to win medals,” Decha said.
The Kingdom’s cycling team also yielded one more bronze from men’s downhill, Suebsakun Sukchanya coming third with a time of 2:18.449 minutes. Indonesian Khoiful Mukhib stole the limelight by finishing in just 2:16.687 minutes, 1.497 second ahead of Chiang Shenshan of Taiwan.
Thailand also won equestrian and weightlifting bronze medals.
The Thai dressage team scored 66.715 points to trail Japan (69.499) and South Korea (68.3445).
2017 World Championships snatch gold medallist Thunya Sukcharoen also finished third in the women’s 48kg after lifting 189kg.
In badminton, the women’s team are also sure of a medal after a 3-0 win over Taiwan that included a stunning 2-0 victory by Ratchanok Intanon over world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying.
In men’s sepak takraw team regu second preliminary round, Thailand’s defending champions surged to the top of Pool A after outclassing South Korea 3-0, following a first-up win by the same score over Malaysia. Thailand, as group winner, will play India in the semi-final on Tuesday.
The women’s team also beat South Korea 3-0 for their second win in Group A.
Luksika Khumkum
However, there was sad news for the Kingdom’s top two female tennis players, Luksika Kumkum and Peangtarn Plipuech. They, along with the No 1 pairing of Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana were all eliminated in the second round.
That represented a dismal outcome for Thai tennis after it returned home from Incheon 2014 with one gold, one silver and one bronze.
And the exit of the Thai men's football team was also confirmed as Sunday’s loss to Uzbekistan and other results yesterday meant they failed to qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams.
