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Chiang Rai: Friends, Family Remember Thai Soccer Boy Rescued From Cave
CHIANGRAI, Thailand — Friends and family of one of the soccer players rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand in 2018 remembered their teammate who died in the UK last month by chanting Buddhist prayers and talking about how he was a natural leader with a bright future.
Seventeen soccer balls, one for each year of Duangphet “Dom” Phromthep’s life, adorned his shrine.
On Saturday night, a group of monks sat in a row at the temple of Wat Phra That Doi Wao and chanted prayers for Duangphet, who, along with 11 of his teammates and their coach, was trapped in the Tham Luang Cave for more than two weeks before being miraculously rescued by a team of expert divers.
He got the chance to play football. He was able to fulfill his desire to travel abroad. Thanaporn Phromthep, his mother, expressed gratitude for the chances her son was given. Dom was a laid-back teen. He had a basic lifestyle and diet. He was easygoing and didn’t stress out much. He died without any suffering.
His remains were cremated and transported early Saturday morning to the province of Chiang Rai in Thailand.
Duangphet was a scholarship student at the Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicestershire when he was found unresponsive in his room on February 12. He was pronounced dead two days later.
His cremation took place in the United Kingdom earlier this week. His remains were cremated and transported early Saturday morning to the province of Chiang Rai in Thailand’s far north, where he will rest over the next few days.
His grandparents were emotionally overcome when given the small box containing the ashes at the Chiang Rai airport. Ekapol Chanthawong, his ex-coach and fellow cave inhabitant, proudly displayed a life-size portrait of his former pupil.
“He had a passion for playing football and was very focused and determined,” said Nopparat Khanthavong, Duangphet’s head coach when he was a member and captain of the Wild Boars youth soccer team in Chiang Rai.
He was a born leader, as Nopparat put it. He was dedicated to his training and set a good example for the other guys and the younger ones. He auditioned and was offered a scholarship to study in England, but that would be his only overseas experience.
“Playing football abroad was his lifelong goal,” Nopparat said.
SOURCE – (AP)
