Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, deputy prime minister and president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, has vowed to give his full backing to Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, the first Thai woman to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ranks.
Patama, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand, told the media after their meeting yesterday that Gen Prawit congratulated her on being elected as an IOC member earlier this month and that he expected more cooperation between Thailand and the IOC following her election.
"Gen Prawit was very kind and gave me a lot of advice. He hoped that, with my position, Thailand will work with the IOC more often and he thought that can help develop the standard of sports in our country," said Patama.
The BAT chief said she was also encouraged by the support of Gen Charouck Arirachkaran, vice president and secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, who was at the meeting.
"Maj Gen Charouck was very supportive. He said Thailand has a lot of potential in many sports. So having me as a link between the IOC and Thailand could be a good thing," she said.
Patama promised to help develop all sports both in Thailand and abroad after her election at the 131st IOC session in Lima, Peru, earlier this month.
Patama, who is also a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), became the first Thai woman, and the fourth person from her country, to win the post after Praphas Charusathien (1971-1974), Dawee Chullasapya (1974-1989) and Nat Indrapana (1990-now).
It is the first time that Thailand has two IOC members at the same time.
Long-serving Dr Nat will reach his mandatory retirement age of 80 in March while Patama, 52, is entitled to be an IOC member until the age of 70.
Patama first became involved in sports during the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, acting as the team manager of the Thai badminton squad.