Sport

Thais are passionate sports enthusiasts, both as spectators and participants. Several Thais have become world-class athletes, including boxers with several world champions in the lighter divisions, marksmen, badminton players and sprinters. Traditional Thai sports include takmxw, a popu lar sport which involves keeping a woven rattan ball aloft by means of feet, knees, thighs, chest, shoulders and head; kitefighting, where in March, a dependable late afternoon breeze signals the kite-flying season; and long-boat racing. International sports include soccer, snooker golf, which made its debut in Thailand in the l920s and has become a sport popular among affluent Thais all over the kingdom; horse-racing, a Western sport that has found wide spread appeal among Thais, especially in the capital which has two tracks; and water sports such as scuba diving, windsurfing, jetskiing and sailing.

Keep-fit enthusiasts include joggers and runners of all ages, sizes and shapes, and practitioners of Tai Chi Chuan, the Chinese balletlike, slow-motion calisthenics.