After a tense three-hour meeting at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports yesterday Kanokphan, who has been vice president of the Handball Association of Thailand, was chosen to run the SAT.

Kanokphan pulled off an upset 8-5 victory in the voting over rival candidate Thirachai Vudhidhama, who had been tipped to take the position.

Only the best three candidates - Kanokphan, Thirachai, an executive board member of Thai Airways International, and Aram Lohweera, a former transport and communications deputy minister - made the cut for the final selection by the SAT board yesterday.

Kanokphan will have a four-year term and receive a Bt150,000 monthly salary.

Kanokphan said he wants to build an international training centre and develop the skills of the SAT administration to meet international standards.