Thailand coach: The ball’s at Malaysia’s feet

THAILAND blind football team coach Chaiyaporn Sanidwong Na Ayutthaya has played down his side’s chances of wresting the gold medal from Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Asean Para Games.

The 57-year-old has picked defending champions Malaysia as the team to beat when the competition begins at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.

The Thais have retained three players from the squad who won silver at the Singapore Para Games in 2015.

They have also recalled five players from the gold medal-winning team in the 2014 Myanmar Para Games.

But Chaiyaporn refused to let his team be tagged as favourites, claiming they only had four months to prepare for the KL Games.

Chaiyaporn, who served as a referee in the 2015 Singapore Asean Para Games, said that he knows the Malaysian team’s strength well.

“We had a short preparation this time, so we don’t have any specific targets. We just want to play our best and see where it takes us,” said the Bangkok local yesterday.

“Malaysia are the favourites. They are the defending champions and are playing at home.

“I think Vietnam are also strong medal contenders.

“We will open our campaign against Malaysia tomorrow (Monday) and it will be tough match.”

Chaiyaporn, who holds an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ‘C’ coaching licence, said he enjoys coaching football at all levels.

“I love football. I have the licence to coach youth players and I think the young players and the visually-impaired players have the same passion and determination,” said Chaiyaporn, who played club football during his younger days in Bangkok.

“I enjoy coaching this team because they train hard and listen to my instructions.

“I’m passionate about football and I love learning about football. I took up refereeing to learn more about blind football in the last Asean Para Games.”