Thailand last topped the ASEAN Para Games medal table in Singapore in 2015, reports the Bangkok Post.
Returning as hosts for the first time in 18 years, the home contingent is targeting 233 gold medals from 19 sports.
A total of 493 golds will be up for grabs during the Jan 20-26 tournament, with the opening ceremony due to take place at the HM the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium this evening.
The Games will feature athletics, archery, badminton, 5-a-side football, boccia, chess, cycling, 7-a-side football, goalball, judo, weightlifting, swimming, table tennis, sitting volleyball, shooting, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis, and bowling (held in Bangkok).
Nakhon Ratchasima will serve as the main hub of the competition for over 1,600 athletes from 10 nations - Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Cambodia withdrew from the tournament last Wednesday.
The Thai contingent will feature a host of Paralympians who have proven track records at an international level, including wheelchair fencing queen Saysunee Jana and wheelchair racing star Pongsakorn Paeyo.
Saysunee, a five-time Paralympic gold medallist and a triple gold medal winner at the Paris Paralympics in 2024, will compete in two events - epee class B and foil class B - and she is hoping to win both events.
According to the organisers, Saysunee will light the torch while Prawat Wahoram will hold the national flag during today’s opening ceremony of the Games.
Saysunee made history after becoming the first woman to win three gold medals - epee, foil and sabre - at a single Paralympics at Paris 2024.
However, she has never competed in the ASEAN Para Games as the sport was not included in the tournament after the 2008 Games in Thailand.
Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Pongsakorn will be a part of the wheelchair racing team, featuring well-known athletes such as Chaiwat Rattana, Athiwat Paeng-Nuea, and the legendary Prawat Wahoram. While rising track stars like Plathip Khamtha, Sasirawan Inthachot, and Orawan Kraising will also hope to make a name for themselves.
Pongsakorn won his third consecutive Paralympic gold in the men’s 400m T53 event at Paris 2024 to add to his victories in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Chaiwat triumphed in the men’s 100m T34 event in Paris while Prawat is one of Thailand’s most successful Paralympians with 16 medals won.
The para table tennis team will be led by Paralympic silver medallists Rungroj Thainiyom and Wanchai Chaiwut while the boccia team are led by world-class athletes including Worawut Saengampa, Watcharaphon Vongsa, and Pornchok Larpyen.
“The 13th ASEAN Para Games marks Thailand’s return to hosting the games after 18 years, since the 4th Games in 2008,” said Dr Gongsak Yodmani, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) during a recent interview.
“I urge sports fans to cheer on our Thai athletes, so that our Paralympic team can win the overall title for the seventh time, even against a strong competitor like Indonesia.”
He added that the tournament will be a highly competitive event, with 4 out of 19 sports - athletics, swimming, weightlifting, and cycling - serving as qualifiers for the 5th Asian Para Games, to be held from Oct 18-24 in Nagoya, Japan.
“I am confident that all Asean member nations place great importance on the 13th ASEAN Para Games in Thailand. Indonesia, who has always been strong, will send their best team to compete because this tournament is considered a very important platform,” he said.