The figure, already a significant reduction from the 21 golds projected by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), underscores the pressure facing the country’s sports officials and athletes, reports the Bangkok Post.
Thailand will be sending a 983-member delegation, including 694 athletes, to the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from Sept 19-Oct 4 sports extravaganza.
Thai athletes will compete in 43 sports with the SAT estimating gold medals from 11 sports: sepak takraw (4), teqball (3), sailing (2), taekwondo (2), boxing (2), athletics (2), weightlifting (2), golf (1), badminton (1), jujitsu (1) and e-sports (1).
Meanwhile, the NOCT has set a more modest target with its vice-president Chaiyapak Siriwat saying that Thai athletes should at least match their performance in China four years ago, which produced 12 gold medals.
Chaiyapak said the 20th Asian Games is a crucial platform to showcase Thailand’s potential, capabilities, and reputation at the continental level.
“I urge all involved parties to fully integrate their efforts in all aspects, including training, health care, travel and coordination to ensure the Thai athletes can perform to their full potential, achieve excellent results, and bring honour to the country,” he said.
“Thai athletes should do better than we did four years ago in China.”