But they do love their national sports personalities who bring fame and achievements to their country. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Thailand,[1] with both the men’s and women’s national teams having achieved some success on the international stage. The women’s team has won the gold medal at the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship twice, in 2009 and 2013, and the silver medal twice, in 2017 and 2019. They also won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games and have won the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games a record 15 times, most recently in 2021. The men’s team has also achieved success in regional competitions, winning the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games eight times, in 1985, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. They also reached the semi-finals and finished in 4th place at the 2010 Asian Games.
- The use of longboats has been evident in Thai culture for a long time for transportation and defence, Thai people have depended on the longboats from time immemorial.
- According to Kosiyakul, there are good investment opportunities in Thailand sports that can become fruitful for investors over the five to ten years period and beyond.
- The country has hosted the MotoGP since 2018 at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram.
- Also known as Thai Boxing, this sport has been passed on generations after generations, making it Thailand’s national sport.
- Golf is the most popular Thai sport apart from badminton, football, boxing, snooker, tennis and bowling.
The Athletics Association of Thailand (AAT), founded in 1948, has played a role in developing and promoting athletics in the country. Once a taboo subject, the issue of royal reform and amendments to lese majeste has seen a turning point since the protests, with people increasingly speaking about the monarchy openly and publicly, despite the legal risks. Olympic silver medallists Gabi Guimaraes and Rosamaria Montibeller will lead their younger teammates on offense, while Ana Carolina da Silva and Thaisa Menezes are the main forces on defence. Ariya is the first golf player from Thailand to achieve the number one rank in Women’s World Golf Ranking in June 2017.
However the traditional martial art of Thai boxing (Muay Thai) is Thailand’s national sport. Football is the most popular sport in Thailand,[1] with a strong domestic league and passionate fanbase. The Thailand national football team, nicknamed the War Elephants, has a long history and has consistently been one of the top teams in Southeast Asia. They have won the AFF Championship seven times, in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2022. The team has also achieved some success on the continental stage, finishing third in the 1972 AFC Asian Cup.
Vacharaesorn’s presence at the exhibition comes a month after he returned to Thailand for the first time in almost three decades, since his family’s estrangement from the royal family following his parents’ divorce in 1996. The US roster includes eight Olympic champions from Tokyo, including captain Micha Hancock, Haleigh Washington, Kelsey Robinson, and Jordan Thompson. Japan will be playing on home turf in Pool B, and Masayoshi Manabe’s team are hoping to get that extra push from the stands to help their chances of getting past the favourites Türkiye and Brazil. Türkiye have been on top of the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Rankings since they won the VNL, and they added even more points to their lead by becoming European champions for the first time in the beginning of September.
He stressed the need for companies to invest more money into local broadcast rights, so that the league can compete for football fan attention across ASEAN countries. Bangkok, Thailand, 24 June 2021 – As consumers get used https://tennisnerd.net/tennis-travel/the-most-scenic-tennis-locations-in-thailand/32039 to the new normal after living with COVID-19 for more than a year, sports viewers are becoming a scoring opportunity for brands and media owners. Since the comeback of live sport, fans are hungrier than ever for content.
The Thai government has officially recognized esports as a professional sport in the country, and the Thai E-Sports Federation (TESF) is the body established to manage esports in Thailand. As of September 2021, eligible esports teams and athletes gained access to financial support from the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and its Professional Sports Promotion Fund. In addition, the DEPA Game Accelerator Program aims to improve the landscape for game publishers and developers. Thailand’s esports business has evolved dramatically in recent years, with a strong and active gaming population that spends hours playing games every day, especially on mobile. From popular titles like League of Legends and Dota 2 to mobile games like Arena of Valor and PUBG Mobile, the business has developed to cover a diverse spectrum of games. The Thai national team has enjoyed recent success, with the Men’s team securing silver, and Women’s bagging bronze at the recent SEA Games 2023.
Windsurfing has also become a popular sport in Pattaya’s Jomthien Beach. Thai boxing, kite-fighting and takro are some traditional Thailand sports, which are enjoyed till date. The kite-flying tradition has been around for quite a long time in Thailand. However, since the monarchy of Ramkamhaeng of the Sukhothai period, Thai people have been conducting kite fighting as a traditional sports festival.
Members of the growing urban middle class, who generally have much more disposable income, often travel up-country to temple festivals, but they seek recreation in many other ways as well. Indeed, so many golf courses were built in Thailand in the 1980s and ’90s that environmentalists began to raise concerns that the allocation of irrigation water for golf courses was having a negative impact on agriculture in neighbouring areas. Thai urban centres also offer many other forms of recreation, ranging from nightclubs with cabaret performances to formal concerts with famous musicians from other parts of the world. Sanuk, the enjoyment of life, is fundamental to social life in Thailand, whether in villages or in the cities.
The International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF), which is the international governing body for the sport of Sepak takraw, was established in 1988 with five founding member countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Myanmar. The Takraw Association of Thailand (TAT) was founded in 1983 and has played a crucial role in the development and promotion of the sport in Thailand and globally. Presence of some world-class beaches provides opportunities for scuba diving and snorkeling. There are abundant diving facilities at Pattaya, Samui Islands, Phuket, Phi-Phi islands and in many more islands and beaches. Boat racing as a custom is also popular in some parts of Thailand.In 2014, Phuket successfully hosted the 4th Asian Beach Games. The soothing weather of Thailand makes golfing possible all throughout the year in the various golf courses spread at various places in the country.
In this article, you will get to know about the most popular sports personalities of Thailand. So keep reading for interesting sports news that you may have missed out on. We are delighted to bring you a comprehensive coverage of Thailand’s rapidly expanding esports and sports industries. The Thai government has identified these industries as key sectors for economic growth and has invested in infrastructure and partnerships to support their development. Nielsen has changed the game by delivering integrated fan, brand and consumer behaviour data to provide the complete market view. Nielsen Fan Insights brings together a unique combination of data sources into a single, connected platform, delivering a comprehensive view into sports fans’ interests, media behaviour, brand attitudes and purchasing habits.
