Thai Princess Discusses Asian Games Opening Ceremony Outfit Design

Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana gave an interview to Thai media covering the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. When asked about the differences between badminton and equestrian sports, she said they are entirely different worlds with nothing in common and require completely different skill sets. She explained that while adapting to equestrian competition took considerable time, her existing sports foundation helped, and the European training regimen strengthened her basics quickly. She credited her sports science team most of all for enabling the relatively swift transition from badminton to show jumping.

Asked how she overcame grief following the death of Princess Patcharakitiyabha to qualify for the Thai equestrian team, she said she never stopped training and remained in competition throughout. During her brother's illness, she felt she was competing for him. On the day of his passing, she was competing in Italy in challenging emotional and physical conditions—a practice day before competition in intense heat. The federation encouraged her to compete despite the chaos and uncertainty. She competed in two classes, and her performance was poor that day; the horse was difficult and everything went wrong, so she knew she hadn't qualified. She returned to compete at another event, but everything remained difficult. However, she credited the coaching staff and entire team for pulling her through until she qualified for the Asian Games, even though she had accepted she wouldn't make it. After her brother's death, she took time to recover, and now has returned to her normal state as an athlete, competing with full effort as before.

When asked about the inspiration for the Thai team's Asian Games opening ceremony uniform, which has gone viral and sold out rapidly, she said everything happened very quickly. She had longed to wear uniforms like this since her badminton days through the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in China. The design reflects...