SPORTS IN THAILAND
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 16 Oct 2016
King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
BANGKOK, THAILAND - The Thais here are mourning the death of their beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the government proclaimed one year of mourning. For one month stores and bars were banned from selling alcohol and entertainments were prohibited. The people here wore black shirts and dresses as a gesture of grief for the 88-year-old departed monarch who ruled Thailand for 70 years.
King Bhumibol was a painter, musician, photographer, author, translator and sportsman. As a young sports enthusiast, Bhumibol had a great interest in firearms. He owned a carbine, a Sten gun and two automatic pistols, and he and his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, would practice target shooting at the gardens of the palace.
King Bhumibol was an excellent sailor and sailboat designer. It was evidenced by his winning a gold medal for sailing in the Fourth Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in 1967, the predecessor of the Southeast Asian Games.
On April 19, 1966, Bhumibol also sailed the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Toey Ngam Harbour in Sattahip, covering 110 km in 17 hours.
Football is now considered by many as the most popular sport in Thailand and has overtaken Muay Thai in wide following. The Thai national football team has qualified and played in the AFC Asian Cup six times and reached the semifinals in 1972. Thailand hosted the Asian Cup twice, in 1972 and in 2007.
Thailand is considered the golf capital of Asia as the country is a haven for golfers from Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and Western countries.
Golf is popular here not only among the rich but also among the middle classes and tourists. There are more than 200 world-class golf courses nationwide, and they are so popular that they hosted the world renowned PGA and LPGA tournaments, such as the Amata Spring Country Club, Alpine Golf and Sports Club, Thai Country Club, and Black Mountain Golf Club.
Thailand first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and has competed in every Summer Olympic Games, except in the US-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Thailand has also joined in the Winter Olympic Games since 2002.
Thai athletes have won a total of 31 medals (9 golds, 8 silvers, 14 bronzes) mostly in boxing and weightlifting. Thailand's most successful Games so far were the 2004 Games in Athens, where they won eight medals, three of them were gold.
The Thai boxers who won Olympic golds were featherweight Somluck Kamsing (1996), flyweight Wijan Ponlid (2000), lightwelterweight Manus Boonjumnong (2004), and flyweight Somjit Jongjohor (2008)
Thai professional boxers are also world class and the current world titleholders are WBA minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart, WBA interim flyweight champion Stamp Kiatniwat, WBC strawweight champion Chayaphon Moonsri and WBA superflyweight silver champion Wisaksil Wangek.
Photo shows Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
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