Eight sports associations, led by the Football Association of Thailand (FA Thai), are looking to contribute 33 golds, to bolster Thailand’s chances topping the medal table on home soil at the 33rd SEA Games early next month.
The FA Thai and seven other national bodies, for rugby, rowing, archery, skeet and trap shooting, bowling, cricket and netball, attended the last press briefing yesterday to unveil their medal targets ahead of the Games, to be held in Bangkok, Chon Buri and Songkhla between December 9 and 20.
Also present was Sports Authority of Thailand Governor Dr. Gongsak Yodmani, who began the proceedings by offering an assurance that the preparation work for the Games will finish on time.
“Things might not have gone smoothly due to budgetary issues. That’s mainly down to the turn of the new fiscal year. The disbursement could only be made last month. That made it look like we just tried to accelerate the preparations in the closing stages. Nevertheless, I would like to confirm that we can get it all done within the planned timeframe,” said Dr Gongsak.
No sport holds greater public expectation than football. The men’s team and the FAT are aiming to make a clean sweep of four titles from men’s and women’s football disciplines and from both futsal competitions.
“Every football club is ready to release their players for the SEA Games competition, albeit not for all of the matches. Generally, we will still be able to call up players we want for the national team though. We have only one target for the men’s team, which is to regain the title. This has been elusive since 2017 in Malaysia,” said men’s football team coach Thawatchai Dunrong-ongtrakul.
Thawatchai’s sentiment was echoed by men’s futsal team coach Miguel Rodrigo, who firmly set his sights on helping the Kingdom succeed in front of home crowd.
“All the staff and I are determined to deliver the gold medal for Thai fans as we’re aware of the tournament’s significance. We will field our strongest team. The good news is that we are able to call upon Muhammad Osamanmusa, our key player, who will return from Spain (where he is currently based) to help the team. Nothing less than the title is our sole target,” said the Spanish coach.
The FA Thai’s targeted clean sweep is, however, dwarfed by a staggering tally of 18 titles the Rowing and Canoeing Association of Thailand (RCAT) is aiming to earn.
“Out of 30 titles available at this year’s Games, we are odds-on to win at least 18. Four will be from canoe slalom, two from beach sprint, a combined six from canoe/kayak, three from sculling and another three from long-boat racing,” said the RCAT deputy secretary general Capt Noraphat Tha-in.
National associations for archery and skeet and trap shooting are targeting three golds apiece, while cricket and rugby aim for two. Bowling has a modest target of a solitary gold medal and netball hopes to finish among the top three.
In total, Thailand’s medal target stands at 241 out of the 574 golds at stake in the Games, which features 50 official sports, three demonstration disciplines (Air Sports, Flying Disc and Tug of War) and one “value-added” sport (the mixed martial arts).
