SWIMMING: Thailand’s national swimming team has elected to make Phuket their training base ahead of next month’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Cambodia, officials confirmed yesterday (Apr 26).
Suprawee Sukkerd, Director of the Diving Sports Association of Thailand, told a press conference yesterday that the national team would be using Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus as their base for all training activities ahead of the 32nd edition of the regional competition in Phnom Penh between May 5-17.
Mr Suprawee further explained that a total of 14 athletes are involved, comprising nine male and five female swimmers. One foreign coach and one Thai coach are also part of the delegation, as are a number of expert sports scientists, physiotherapists and doctors.
The team will remain in Phuket to avail the facilities at PSU before returning to Bangkok on May 9 before flying to the Cambodian capital the following day.
Both the male and female teams will compete against swimmers from fellow Asean countries on May 12, 13 and 14.
“Prior to arriving in Phuket, the swimmers have undergone an extensive training and preparation programme over a four month period that we hope will place them in good stead to succeed once official competition commences,” Mr Suprawee told reporters yesterday.
“The goal is to win at least two gold medals in Phnom Penh,” he added. “We are confident that with the full support of an expert training team and the individual support from parents and families that the athletes can thrive and achieve this target.
“The general public can also provide important support so we call upon all Thais to encourage the national swimming team and help them achieve their objectives next month,” Mr Suprawee concluded.
Fans will be able to watch all of the sporting action from the SEA Games after the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) announced that live broadcasts will be televised for viewers in Thailand.
SAT Governor Kongsak Yodmanee said on Apr 16 that broadcasts will be made on Channel 5, Channel 9, and NBT. Officials are also in talks with Channel 3 to join as the fourth channel for broadcasting various sports for the international multi-sport event, he said.
The announcement came as Thailand and Cambodia are still in ongoing negotiations over licensing fees. Disputes erupted after Cambodia requested B27.6 million from Thailand for the rights to broadcast the event, the highest fee ever charged for the competition.
– Additional reporting by NNT
