The men’s football gold remains the most coveted medal for Thailand as the War Elephants look to end an eight-year title drought at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in December.
The Thai team have won the men’s football gold for a record 16 times. They also hold the record of winning it eight consecutive times from 1993-2007.
However, the last time Thailand won the men’s football gold was in 2017 at the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. The War Elephants lost 5-2 to Indonesia in the final of the 32nd edition in Cambodia two years ago.
Just as the public holds high hopes for the men’s football crown, the country’s athletes are also expected to top the medal standings, but Dr Gongsak Yodmani, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, has admitted it will be difficult for the Thai contingent to rule the medal haul in every sport.
“We expect our athletes to perform well in Olympic sports such as taekwondo, weightlifting, badminton, while in other sports like athletics and swimming, they should produce better results than the previous edition, although they may not win gold in some events,” said Dr Gongsak.
“Expectations will be high in popular sports such as football and volleyball. Football, especially, is easily the sport carrying the biggest gold medal hopes that Thai fans will want our team to win,” he added.
The men’s football team are in Group A along with Cambodia and Timor-Leste and will play the group stage at Songkhla’s Tinsulanonda Stadium.
“Every match in the SEA Games is very important. Our target is to win the gold medal because we are a host nation. If the preparation goes as well as is planned, it is a good opportunity for us to go all the way and win the title,” said head coach Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul.
The 33rd SEA Games, which will feature 50 medal sports, will take place in three host cities — Bangkok, Chon Buri and Songkhla — between Dec 9-20.