Thais have a ball to sweep all the events

Sports News : Monday December 10, 2007

SEPAK TAKRAW

Thais have a ball to sweep all the events

Nakhon Ratchasima _ Thailand swept two gold medals in both the men's and women's team events yesterday. The Thai women edged out Vietnam 2-1 and the men comfortably defeated Indonesia 2-0 in a packed stadium at The Mall department store.

The Thai women took the team gold medal for the third straight time. Laos and Burma shared the bronze.

It was sweet revenge for the Thais who lost to the Vietnamese at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

''Our hard work paid off after six-month training,'' said Thailand captain Areerat Takan. ''We have to thank the fans in the packed stadium.''

Thailand coach Weeras Na Nongkhai said that everything went as planned. ''My team played in accordance with our game plan so we won,'' he said.

In the men's team final, Thailand, who struggled past Laos in the semi-finals, saw off Indonesia 2-0. Vietnam and Lao took the bronze.

It was Thailand's 11th gold medal in the team event at the SEA Games.

Thailand coach Kamol Tankimhong said that his team won easily because Indonesia made a lot of mistakes.

''The played better in previous matches,'' Kamol said. ''They looked nervous playing in front of our fans.''

Thailand had won both men's and women's hoop. They are aiming to win at least two more golds in the remaining four events.

However, they are favourite to sweep all eight golds up for grabs in takraw after Malaysia withdrew from the sepak takraw tournament in protest of the rubber-coated ball.

By : Bangkok Post