Venues ready for 13th Asian Games
JAKARTA (JP): The Thai and Chinese national soccer teams will play a friendly match Saturday to try out the newly built Hua Mark Royal Stadium, Bangkok's venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 13th Asian Games in December.
The chairman of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Sahchal Tabsuwan, said the friendly match would test the stadium's operating facilities. The match will also serve as a trial run for alleviating traffic congestion before and after the competition.
The match is jointly organized by SAT, the Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee (BAGOC) and Thailand's soccer association, the Games information center said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.
China took the silver in the previous Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, four years ago after losing 2-4 to debutant Uzbekistan in the final. The former Soviet republic beat Southeast Asian champion Thailand 5-4 in the semifinals.
Both Thailand and China will play on a standard-size soccer field, built at a cost of over 1,000 million baht (US$25 million). It lies on the eastern side of Bangkok.
Construction of the stadium, designed to accommodate 60,000 spectators, had been delayed over a 10-year period.
Apart from being the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, the stadium will be the main venue for the Games' soccer competition.
SAT will also officially open the Aquatic Center at Thamunasat University on Saturday.
The swimming compound, which has a seating capacity of 4,600, has a world-class diving pool, a 10-lane competition pool and a separate warm-up pool.
Earlier this month, a shooting range was also officially opened for practices. The venue, the first of two planned shooting ranges, is located at the Hua Mark sports complex, near the Royal Main Stadium.
Sharpshooters will be vying for 34 gold medals at the two venues in 27 men's and 12 women's shooting events.
To increase the visibility of the 13th Asian Games, the Thai government has ordered a two-week school break between Dec. 6 and Dec. 20 throughout the country.
The school closure is expected to enable students to become part of an estimated half a million spectators attending the Games.
The upcoming Asiad will comprise 38 sports with more than 10,000 athletes and officials from 34 countries taking part. A total of 377 gold medals will be up for grabs at over 50 venues inside and outside Bangkok.
Bangkok will be hosting the quadrennial event for the fourth time, more than any other city in the history of the Games. The Thai capital hosted the event in 1966, 1970 and 1978. (emf)