Thailand's Asian Games men's football team coach Worrawoot Srimaka has once again handed the captain's armband to his trusted lieutenant Chenrop Samphaodi of SCG Muang Thong United.
The coach on Saturday named his 20-man line-up for the Asian Games in Indonesia in which there was no place for FC Tokyo player Jakkrit Wechpiromhead.
The Thai squad, who recently defeated Southern District from Hong Kong 5-0 and Nepal 4-0 in their two pre-Games warm-up matches, depart for Jakarta on Sunday.
The team members and staff coaches on Saturday called on renowned monk Chao Khun Thongchai at Wat Trai Mit to seek his blessings before leaving for the Asian Games.
Apart from keeping faith with Kirins striker Chenrop, Worrawoot has also retained injured Chiang Rai United defender Suriya Singmui.
Chonburi midfielder Worachit Kanitsribumphen has been granted a place in midfield where he will have the company of Chaiyawat Buran of Chiang Rai United, rising Buriram United star Supachoke Sarachart and Thanasit Siriphala, who plays for Suphanburi.
Chenrop was the skipper of the team that won the gold medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
The striker was the subject of harsh all-round criticism after a string of lacklustre performances in the SEA Games, where he remained scoreless until Thailand's fifth and last group stage clash in which they beat Vietnam 3-0 to book a place in the semi-finals.
Worrawoot said on Saturday it was tough for him to trim the squad to 20 players.
"They had all worked so hard in the training camp and made every effort to impress the coaching staff," said Worrawoot.
"After we cut down the number of players to 20, I called the players who didn't make it and spoke to each one of them personally.
"They were all very understanding and I have made it very clear that this isn't the end of the road for them.
"We have to move on and prepare for our journey to Indonesia.
"Today, we took the team to make merit by seeking blessings from Chao Khun Thongchai before going to Asian Games tomorrow [today]."
Thailand have been drawn with Uzbekistan, Qatar and Bangladesh in Group B of the men's football tournament, which is a U23 competition that allows each country to field three overage players.
The War Elephants kick off their Asian Games campaign against Qatar on Tuesday followed by the game with Bangladesh on Thursday. They face reigning Asian U23 champions Uzbekistan next Sunday.
