At the 33rd SEA Games, badminton (polo) became the focus of attention when the Thai team won the historic gold medal in the 2-4 goal event after a 7.5-0 victory over Brunei. What attracted this victory special attention was the presence of Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha - Chairman of Leicester City Club and one of the richest businessmen in Thailand.
Aiyawatt - leader of King Power Group and was included in the list of 5 youngest billionaires in Asia according to Forbes in 2020, attended the Congress as an polo athlete of the Thai team. The sport associated with the aristocracy has been pursued by him for many years and continues to create a brilliant milestone in his sports career at this SEA Games.
The victory over Brunei brought Thailand to the first ever SEA Games championship in polo, after the Games only stopped at the bronze medal in 2007 and the silver medal in 2017. This is also the reunion between the two teams in the tournament, when in the opening match on December 3, Thailand won by a narrow margin of 7.5-7.
Sharing after winning the gold medal, Aiyawatt expressed his pride in the team's efforts in training and competition: "We have prepared and planned a lot, we are not allowed to make any mistakes. Luckily, we succeeded.
The businessman was also moved to give the victory to his late father - Mr. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. I want to do this for my father and today I achieved it, he said.
The impressive achievement at the 33rd SEA Games is considered an important stepping stone for polo Thailand to continue to expand its influence and develop more strongly in the future.
