It has been a tradition for Thai athletes to hold aloft a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej after their success.
It is unclear who began the practice but this first became widely seen around the globe when boxer Somluck Kamsing did it after he won the country's first ever Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Other Thai boxers have since done the same when they were triumphant at major international events including Olympic champions Wijarn Ponlid (2002), Manus Boonjumnong (2004) and Somjit Jongjohor (2008).
Thai athletes in other sports have also resorted to the practice.
"Before I fought in the Olympic final on Aug 4, 1996, I paid respect to the king's portrait and asked him to protect me as I wanted to bring the gold medal back to Thailand for the king and the Thai people," Somluck said in an interview.
"When I was young, I looked at him as a god who would protect me when I faced bad things or was scared of ghosts."
Somluck said he knew that the king watched the bout after one of the king's aides made a phone call to one of the Thai team bosses after his victory.
After returning to Thailand, the boxer was granted an audience with the king, who passed away last year, as Somluck intended to give the king the gold medal.
"The year 1996 was an auspicious one as the king was celebrating the 50th anniversary on the throne," Somluck recalled.
"I was so proud and nervous before the audience. But when I did meet him, it was a warm atmosphere as he talked to me like a father to his son.
"The king told me that when he saw me hold aloft his photo, he thought he was in the ring and jumped cheerfully. When he saw his servants laugh, he felt embarrassed and sat down."
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Somjit had an amulet with King Bhumibol's image as a monk known in Thai as the Nai Luang Song Phanuak amulet.
"The king is already holy -- he is even holier in the monkhood," Somjit said during the Beijing Games.
He went on to win the gold medal after his heartbreaking failure at Athens four years earlier.
He later said: "I held aloft the king's portrait [after his triumph at the 2008 Games] because I wanted the world to know that this winner hailed from Thailand and that was the photo of our 'royal father' who was at the centre of every Thai's heart.
"Several foreigners asked me who the person in the photo was and I proudly told them he was our king."
Kiatisak Senamuang, former player and coach of the Thai national football team, said he always knelt and paid his respect to the king's portrait in the dressing room before a match.
"We would carry a portrait of the king and put it in the dressing room," Kiatisak recalled.
"This helped remind us to play for the country and the king. Everybody wanted to fight for the king."
Nualphan Lamsam, manager of the Thai women's national football team, said the squad always brought with them a portrait of King Bhumibol and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.
"It boosted our morale. When we won, we wanted to hold aloft the photo to tell the world that this was our king who was at the centre of all Thai people's hearts," said Nualphan.
The team did so when they beat Ivory Coast at the 2015 Women's World Cup.
The team also sing the song Sadudee Maha Racha (Hail the Great King) before and after a game.
"I always tell my players to fight for the Thai people and the country as well as the king and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit," she said.