Samsuan wary of Myanmar threat

Defending champions Thailand have picked Myanmar as their main opponent which could prevent their hopes of making a clean sweep in the sepaktakraw event which begins today at the Lao ITECC Hall.

Thailand grabbed all eight gold medals which was on offer when the SEA Games took place in Korat, Thailand two years ago. Head coach Samsuan Manustrong said that as well as they have prepared their squad, the other competing countries are also making improvements.

“The players have been training hard and they are in the right frame of mind to win the gold medals,” said Samsuan this morning. “We are a bit concerned with Myanmar as they have been making steady progress in the past year. We are not worried about the other countries.

“I am sure that Myanmar will give us a very good fight in a match which I think could go either way.”

In the meantime Myanmar team manager Kyaw Zin Moe, whose name means Famous Rain Flower, will be hoping that their meticulous preparation will bear fruit. In Korat, Myanmar picked up two silver medals through the Men’s Hoop and Women’s Hoop other than winning four bronze medals along the way.

Zin Moe added that the squad has been training together for the past 11 months after a tedious selection process which took the selectors all over the provinces. “We are targeting to win three gold medals this time round – an improvement from the two silvers and the four bronzes we picked up two years ago,” added Zin Moe.

“I believe that other than Thailand, the other countries which will give us a fight are Malaysia, Indonesia and Laos for the men’s team and then Vietnam and Laos for the women’s team.”

Source: Lao SEA Games 2009
By: WSL MSC Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) – ICT Committee
December 08, 2009