Dr Kongsak Yodmanee, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), welcomed the athletes at the SAT headquarters in Bangkok for an official orientation ceremony where he delivered a speech of encouragement prior to their departure for South America.
Also present at the ceremony were President of the Phuket Sports Association, Thammawat Wongcharoenyot, Wathanyu Sodsai, President of the Deaf Sports Association of Thailand (DSAT), and his colleague Ms Anchalin Siwalak, secretary-general of DSAT.
The 24th Summer Deaflympics will take place in Caxias do Sul, Brazil from May 1-15 and Thailand has athletes competing in eight different sports including golf, karate, taekwondo, table tennis, badminton and cycling.
Previously known as the World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf, the Deaflympics occur every four years, allowing athletes with hearing impairments to compete at a range of sports at an elite level.
The Deaflympics are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and first took place in Paris in 1924, making it the longest running multi-sport event in history after the Olympics.
The Deaflympics were originally due to take place in Caxias do Sul between Dec 5-21, 2021 but had to be rescheduled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand first competed at the Deaflympics in 2005 in Melbourne where Nattachai Unsomsri won a silver medal in the men’s singles badminton final.
At the last Deaflympics, held in 2017 in Samsun, Turkey, Thai pair Siriwat Mattayanuma and Ittikorn Punyangam won gold medals in the men’s badminton doubles final and Phongsathat Phantib won gold in Kata Karate.
The Phuket News extends best wishes and good luck to all the athletes competing at the Daeflympics in Brazil.