Thai visit: ‘Venues okay, traffic awful’

He saw no problems with the venues but expressed concern with the traffic.

Chaiyapak Siriwat, the visiting vice president of the Thailand Olympic Committee, yesterday made a quick tour of some of the Metro Manila venues for the coming SEA Games. He gave each one of them the passing grade.

The ranking Thai sports official who arrived in the country the other day is confident that venues undergoing renovation will be ready just in time for the Nov. 27 to Dec. 5 event to be participated in by 11 countries.

Siriwat visited the venues for cycling at the Luneta, Muay Thai and bodybuilding at the GSIS compound, and athletics, gymnastics, baseball, lawn tennis and table tennis at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

"Each of your venues will be ready," said Siriwat, also vice president of the Thai lawn tennis association and chairman of his country’s football development program. He once served as former deputy minister of interior.

"We only worry about the traffic thing and the place for our athletes to stay," he added after getting a glimpse of the Metro Manila traffic, which was far from worse yesterday being a Saturday.

"It’s going to be more than this during the SEA Games. We have to prepare," he added of the traffic situation in Metro Manila where a 30-minute drive could take at least more than double during rush hour.

Another concern, he said, is the fact that venues have been scattered in so many different places that go as far as Cebu and Bacolod.

"A lot of nations, not only Thailand. Many nations are worried when they ask the POC about this," he said.

"But the rest is fine," added Siriwat who was to visit venues for wushu and arnis (Emilio Aguinaldo College), squash (Makati Sports Club), women’s golf (Manila Golf Club), rifle and pistol (Fort Bonifacio) and badminton (Philsports) yesterday afternoon.

"Your track oval is going to be done on time. They’re trying their best. Don’t worry. It’s still classic. You just have to retouch it and make it work. For the SEA Games, this is okay," he told Filipino newsmen as he emerged from the Rizal Coliseum, which will hold gymnastics.

Siriwat said Thailand is sending 900 athletes, 150 officials and 300 members of the media to the coming SEA Games. He said he is here to determine if there are any problems that his coutnrymen may encounter during the event.

"Thailand sent 25 of us here to see how things are going on here," said Siriwat, who is scheduled to visit more venues, including those in Subic, Los Baños and Tagaytay before he flies back home Tuesday.