• 
• 

Published on December 6, 2007

 Nakhon Ratchasima

[polo] Thawatjai Thavisri, president of the Thailand Polo Association, said yesterday the home polo squad has prepared well for the Games and is expected to win the gold in the five-nation meet.

Besides the hosts and the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia will compete in the round-robin contest, with the best two teams setting up the clash for the gold medal, and the third and fourth teams on the table playing for the bronze. Both matches are scheduled to be held on December 15, the final day of the biennial extravaganza.

"Thailand are regarded the strongest among the participating teams. With the highly-experienced Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn spearheading the team, I'm convinced we stand the best chance of capturing the gold medal, the first-ever in the polo competition at the SEA Games," a confident Thawatjai said.

"Aiyawatt has taken part in several major tournaments. He was instrumental in taking Thailand to their fourth consecutive King's Cup Polo win. He was also part of the Thai team, which included Prince William of Wales, which won some tournaments in England," he said.

According to Thawatjai, apart from Aiyawatt, his elder brother Apichet, Thanasin Chuawangkham and Satit Wongkraso and two substitutes are part of the Thai team. All riders have a similar handicap of 0.

"Under the supervision of coach Gustavo Yanez from Argentina and with the experience the team has shown in major competitions, I'm confident the gold medal is within our reach," Thawatjai said.

Thailand's match against the Philippines begins at 3pm, to be followed by the encounter between Indonesia and Malaysia at 4.30pm.

Each match will be contested over four chukkas, each of which will last seven and a half minutes.

Preechachan  Wiriyanupappong

 The Nation