Muay Thai gets Saudi Arabia Olympic boost
SAUDI ARABIA HAS promised to help push Muay Thai to become an Olympic sport, Thai officials have confirmed.
Prince Fahad Bin Jalawi Al Saud, vice president and secretary general of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, presided over the opening of the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) headquarters in Bangkok on Monday (May 9).
According to NSDF manager Supranee Couptasa, the prince vowed to promote Muay Thai on the international
stage to enhance its chances of making its Olympic debut.
“Prince Fahad likes Muay Thai and intends to help promote the Thai heritage and push it to become an Olympic
sport,” Supranee said.
Prince Fahad was attending the Thomas Cup and Uber
Cup badminton tournament in Bangkok.
He also met with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who is also president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) in a meeting aimed at strengthen
ing bilateral sporting relations.
Prawit praised the prince for his role in sports including
pushing his country to earn the rights to host the 2034 Asian Games.
Also present at the function
was International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patama Leeswadtrakul.
While Thai officials believe
that Muay Thai is close to be included in the Olympic programme, some observers say it is still a long way to go.
Saudi Arabia and Thailand
agreed to restore their diplomatic ties earlier this year. The
two countries established their
ties in 1957 but their relations turned sour in the 1990s due to certain events.