SEA GAMES 2011: THAILAND BANK ON WINNING TRIO FOR GOLDEN FINISH

JAKARTA (8 Nov 2011) – Thailand are banking on the winning trio of Kasem Jariyawatwong, Prapol Pongpanich and Vitoon Kitmongkolsak to deliver them the gold medal they lost to Malaysia two years ago.

At the SEA Games in Jakarta in 1997, the Thais picked up their third gold medal of the men’s football event by beating hosts Indonesia through penalty shootouts in the final.

And who was at the helm then but Kasem, who was also the Thai team manager then with Prapol the chief coach and Vitoon a member of the squad.

“We hope that we can deliver the gold medal back to Thailand,” added Propol, ahead of their clash against Malaysia tomorrow.

“Winning the gold would certainly uplift the morale of the Thai people who are currently affected by flooding.”

Other than the flooding which has forced the team to move their training base to Phuket, Thailand’s preparation has also been affected by their involvement in the third round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Experienced striker Teerasil Dangda is currently injured while goalkeeper Kawin Thammasatchanant has been selected to play for the full senior side alongside defender Teerathorn Boonmathon for the matches against Saudi Arabia (11 November) and Australia  (15 November).

But Teerathorn has been allowed to join the SEA Games for Thailand’s final group game against Singapore on 17 November.

SEA GAMES RESULTS and FIXTURES
GROUP A