Osaka: The Thai blind football team held their first training session, preparing their strategies for their match against China on Monday in the Asian Blind Football Championship. The Thai national blind football team held their first training session at the actual competition venue, located in front of the Umekita Grand Front shopping mall in Osaka, ahead of their participation in the 2026 IBSA Blind Football Men's Asia Championships, a major regional tournament. Eight leading Asian nations will compete, including host nation Japan. The People's Republic of China, Uzbekistan, India, South Korea, Iran, Australia, and Thailand will compete for a spot in this tournament, securing a quota for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles. The four teams that reach the semi-finals will also qualify for the Blind Football World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to Thai News Agency, German Alberto Marquez, the Argentinian head coach of the Thai national team, led his players in training to familiarize themselves with the field conditions, focusing on adapting to the pleasant weather with temperatures around 22-25 degrees Celsius. Thai national team captain Prakong Buayai revealed that this tournament is crucial for everyone's goal of securing a ticket to the Paralympics. The weather has been very good. However, the artificial turf used by the host country is quite short and hard, making the ball travel faster. They may not be used to it yet, but they will have another opportunity to practice tomorrow. Everyone will try their best to adapt. The coach has prepared a special strategy for the first match against China; it will definitely be exciting. "Yesterday, I spoke with my family back in Thailand and received great encouragement. I would like to thank AIS for supporting us with SIM cards that help all the footballers communicate easily with their families. We, the blind football team, would like to ask Thai sports fans to continue cheering us on. We will do our best." Thailand is in Group 2 along with the People' s Republic of China, South Korea, and Uzbekistan. The Thai national team will have another training session tomorrow before their opening match against the People's Republic of China on April 20th at 4:00 PM Japan time.
Menu