It was definitely worth the wait for the Thai female team and their supporters as they battled through 7 matches to eventually claim the 2nd Marathon Pentaque Women’s Confederation Cup, held in Pattaya from Jan. 26-27.
The tournament, sponsored by the Marathon Co. Ltd. and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FIPJP), took place at the sports field of Pattaya School No. 2 and involved 8 teams from 5 continents.
The victorious Thailand team pose with their coach after winning the 2nd Marathon Pentaque Women’s Confederation Cup 2012.
Representative sides arrived from Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Madagascar, Tunisia, Vietnam and Thailand to take part.
The Thai quartet of Thongsee Tanakhot, Panthipha Wongchuwdt, Amphawan Suwprik and Nanthawan Fuangsanit, began their long road to the final with an impressive 11-4 victory over African champions Madagascar and cemented their title credentials with a resounding 13-0 follow-up win over Israel.
Thailand continued to impress as the tournament progressed, with a 13-1 triumph over Oceania champs Australia being swiftly followed by similar sized wins over both Canada and Tunisia.
In the semi final the Thais were drawn against old adversaries Vietnam but the hosts showed no mercy as they dispatched their near neighbours 13-4 to earn a place in the final. There they would meet former world champions France who had accounted for Madagascar in the second semi-final heat.
The final itself was a tense affair with a lot of respect shown by both sets of players for their opponents, but the hot form shown by the Thai team in earlier rounds would remain till the end and they emerged as worthy 13-7 winners. Madagascar claimed third spot overall after defeating Vietnam 13-5 in the playoff game.
There was some consolation for the French team as star player Papon Angelique won the individual shooting category, defeating her Canadian opponent Bergeron Maryse 33-30 in the final.
D’isidoro Ludivine in action for France.
All smiles from the Canadian team.
Panthipha Wongchuwet pitches for Thailand.
