King will always be in athletes’ hearts
Thai athletes yesterday paid their last respects to the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the country bade its final farewell to the monarch, who passed away a year ago, with a solemn and emotional cremation ceremony.
Calling themselves the “athletes of the king”, several Thai sports stars said in their social media posts: “The king will stay in the Thai people’s hearts forever.”
Many said they were born during the reign of King Rama IX [King Bhumibol] and that they were “sending him to heaven”.
Badminton star Ratchanok Intanon posted a photo of King Bhumibol playing the sport in her Instagram account.
Under the photo was a caption quoting the king as saying that “badminton is just a few sports in which Thais can reach the world level” with hashtags kingofkings and athleteofking.
The king was right as Ratchanok is one of just a few world-class Thai athletes at the moment.
She won the world title in 2013 and became the top-ranked female shuttler last year.
The 22-year-old defied all the odds to win the Denmark Open on Sunday, just days after the first anniversary of the passing away of the king on Oct 13.
Ratchanok prostrated herself and paid her respects to the king after securing a come-frombehind win against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the final.
Earlier after scoring a stunning upset win over world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in the semifinals in Odense, Ratchanok said she knew the king was watching the match from above.
Ratchanok, now No.9 in the world rankings, received a royal decoration from King Bhumibol, a long-time patron of the Badminton Association of Thailand, last year after winning three successive Superseries tournaments and shooting to the top of the world rankings.
Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk also won the
men’s title at the Denmark Open last year — just days after the king passed away on Oct 13, which happened to be the shuttler’s 26th birthday.
Kiatisak Senamuang, former player and excoach of the national football team, said in an interview that all Thais should heed the king’s advice.
“Today, all Thais have the same feeling — nobody wanted this day to happen,” Kiatisak said.
“We should do good deeds and be good people.” He also called on his compatriots t o unite and work for the country during the reign of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.
Coached by Kiatisak, Thailand won the Suzuki Cup (Asean championship) twice in 2014 and 2016.
Kiatisak also claimed three Asean crowns during his playing days.
The king’s passionate involvement from his hospital bed inspired Thailand to win the 2014 Suzuki Cup.
Thailand came from 3-0 behind to lose 3-2 in the second leg of the final against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
The result was enough for Kiatisak’s men to end a 12-year title drought in the biennial championship after a 2-0 home win in the first leg.
The king, who was staying at Siriraj Hospital at that time, watched both legs of the final on TV.
In the deciding match in Kuala Lumpur, Thailand trailed 2-0 at half-time and the king asked his aide to phone the Thai team to tell them that he was watching the match and wanted to give them moral support.
The message spurred the War Elephants to fight back in the second half.
National football team striker Teerathep Winothai said in an Instagram post that “people say a king sits on the throne ... but my king walked on the grass and his chair was the ground.”
Pleumjit Thinkaow, captain of the Thai national women’s volleyball team, said in her Instagram account that there are countless reasons why Thais love the king so much.
“It may take one’s whole lifetime to explain this,” wrote Pleumjit.
Her teammate Nootsara Tomkom said the king will be in her heart forever.
Meanwhile, several English Premier League football clubs bade farewell to the king on their Facebook pages, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham.
“In remembrance of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej 1927-2016,” United said in a post.
Manchester City also posted a photo of Thais joining a farewell ceremony at a temple in the city.
“No matter where we are, we love our ‘father’,” the club said.
During this week’s English League Cup (Carabao Cup) last-16 round matches, there was a message paying tribute to the late monarch at host venues, including Liberty Stadium, where Swansea played Manchester United.
The message read: “Send [the king] to heaven. [You] stay in our hearts forever.”
In Japan, coach Shuhei Yomoda represented J-League football club Consadole Sapporo in paying respects to the monarch.
Thai midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin plays for the team.