The 33rd SEA Games, hosted by Thailand, is about to commence.
The popular sport of men's football will kick off first on Wednesday, 3 Dec at Rajamangala National Stadium.
The group stage schedule for the Thailand national team, led by "Coach Wang" Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul, will start with a match against Timor-Leste at 7 p.m.
The second game, on 11 Dec, will be against the “Lod Chong” squad of Singapore, who replaced Cambodia in Group A after Cambodia withdrew.
Thailand still holds the record for the most SEA Games men's football gold medals, winning 14 times.
Including the earlier SEAP Games era, the total increases to 16 gold medals.
Thai footballers won their first gold medal at the 3rd SEAP Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1965.
They then shared the championship with Myanmar after a 2-2 draw in the final.
They secured the championship again at the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, held in Bangkok.
After the event was renamed the SEA Games, the Thai national team won 14 more championships as follows:
11th SEA Games in 1981 (Philippines).
12th SEA Games in 1983 (Singapore).
13th SEA Games in 1985 (Thailand).
17th SEA Games in 1993 (Singapore).
18th SEA Games in 1995 (Thailand).
19th SEA Games in 1997 (Indonesia).
20th SEA Games in 1999 (Brunei).
21st SEA Games in 2001 (Malaysia).
22nd SEA Games in 2003 (Vietnam).
23rd SEA Games in 2005 (Philippines).
24th SEA Games in 2007 (Thailand).
27th SEA Games in 2013 (Myanmar).
28th SEA Games in 2015 (Singapore).
And most recently, the 29th SEA Games in 2017 (Malaysia).
Of the 16 gold medals won that I can recall, there are four former national players
who made history by winning SEA Games gold both as players and later as head coaches of the Thailand national team.
They are “Coach Heng” Witthaya Laohakul, “Coach Zico” Kiatisuk Senamuang,
“Coach Chok” Choketawee Promrut, and “Coach Yong” Worawut Srimaka.
We will have to see if this SEA Games, “Coach Wang” Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul,
who previously won two SEA Games championships as a player—in 1997 in Indonesia during the “Burning the Senayan Field” era,
and in 1999 in Brunei, where he scored the winning goal in the final against Vietnam—
will become the fifth former Thai national player to earn a SEA Games gold medal both as a player and as a head coach.
The question is whether he can achieve this rare dual honor.
Especially this long-awaited gold medal for our football community,
which has been absent from the top podium for almost nine full years.
We hope that Thai football will regain its greatness in ASEAN sports,
with its 17th men's football SEA Games championship,
right in front of fellow countrymen to close out the year!
Bee Bangpakong
joggingboy_be@yahoo.com