Thailand’s Olympic athletes returned from London to Bangkok yesterday with a parade from Victory Monument to Siam Paragon, where they were celebrated by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and thousands of fans.
Men’s boxing silver medalist Kaew Pongprayoon, who is widely believed to have been robbed of gold by shaky judging, was the main attraction, along with women’s weightlifing silver medalist Pimsiri Sirikaew and taekwondo bronze medalist Chanatip Songkham.
Numerous business executives waited at the airport to give cash or check rewards to the medalists – one businessman even deposited THB10 million cash into Kaew’s account at a Suvarnabhumi bank, the Bangkok Post reported. Kaew’s father also promised something a little less valuable but a whole lot more heartfelt to his son when they returned back to their native province of Kamphaeng Phet: homemade grilled chicken, som tam, and sticky rice.
At the Siam Paragon ceremony Yingluck told the athletes: “You all got gold medals from all Thais.”
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