Thai Women's Sepak Takraw Team Misses Gold After Injury
Thailand's women's sepak takraw team missed a gold medal after key player Vipada Chitpruan suffered an injury during the match against Vietnam. Coach Veerachai Saengsang said the team started well but lost momentum mid-game, and believes they could have maintained their lead without the injury. He thanked the athletes for their effort, apologized to fans, and said the team will learn from the experience to improve.
Coach Veerachai Saengsang said today's game felt the same as before. In the four-player sepak takraw, back-court play was evenly matched with Vietnam; scores were about the same, depending on which team got a good start and how they finished. "We started well today, but in the middle we slipped, causing the score to swing up and down. The turning point was Vipada Chitpruan's injury, which was quite worrying; it erased our lead, leaving the scores level and then shifting against us." "If we consider the four-player game, Thailand and Vietnam are among the top teams, constantly trading wins and losses with close scores. This time was the same; we led in the third set, and if Vipada had not been injured, we could have kept control of the match." He also said he first wanted to give encouragement to the athletes who gave their all, and to apologize to Thai fans who had hoped for a gold in the four-player event, adding that the team had done their best and would review the experience to improve.
