The government plans to establish a sports university as a way to produce more high-quality national athletes, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.

Gen Prayut said the school could be developed through the Institute of Physical Education which already has nationwide colleges, adding that the National Reform Steering Assembly was studying the proposal.

Authorities are also studying the overall approach to developing elite athletes with an emphasis on advanced scientific techniques, he said during his weekly Returning Happiness to All Thais broadcast.

The improvements would build on the outstanding performances that today's athletes have been producing, Gen Prayut said.

The public has been responsing enthusiastically to the achievements of Thai athletes on the international stage, and interest in physical activity is growing as a result.

Recently the Thai men's and women's rugby sides won the Southeast Asia Sevens in Singapore, while the women's national volleyball team narrowly missed qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

Young golf star Ariya "Nong May" Jutanugarn, meanwhile, has moved up to 13th in the world rankings after winning two consecutive Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournaments. She became the first Thai golfer, male or female, to win a tournament on the US professional tour circuit.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by Bangkok post

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