SEA Championship IFEL Final Explore, Indonesia Must Recognize Thailand's Strength As Champion

Thailand won after defeating Indonesia in the IFEL SEA Championship 2023 final. (Photo: Ulfa Gusti Utami/VOI)

JAKARTA - Indonesia must recognize Thailand's strength in the IFEL SEA Championship final which took place on Sunday, July 16. Defeating Malaysia in the semifinals, Indonesia actually lost 1-3 to Thailand in the final round.

In this virtual soccer tournament between ASEAN countries which was first held in Jakarta, the Indonesian team was represented by Puspamba Ibrahim (console) and Dennis Bernard Khu (mobile).

Meanwhile, Master Sirawut Rungrakakul (Console) and Mr Chomakata Yupraphat (mobile) managed to bring Thailand out as champions.

Before challenging Indonesia in the decisive round, Thailand first defeated Vietnam. The advantage of the Gajah Putih team did look dominant since the group stage, as revealed by IFEL SEA Championship CEO Wiramahesa Putra Soetopo.

"Thailand has dominated since the group stage. It is not yet Indonesia's sustenance," he said.

Even though they failed to win the winning trophy, Indonesia was awarded the positive title because they managed to host a successful offline event.

"But thank God this event went smoothly, on all live broadcast platforms there were even around 80 thousand viewers who watched IFEL SEA Championship," he continued.

With this victory, the Thai team won the title as well as a prize of Rp35 million, while Indonesia, which is in the runner-up position, has the right to bring home a prize of Rp20 million.

Successfully showing dominance and winning the title in front of the host supporters, Thailand said it was both happy and proud.

Especially when appearing in the final, they can prove that the pressure on Indonesian supporters who are so militant does not shake the spirit.

"We are happy because this is the first time we have won this event. Yes, we are used to this situation (Indonesian support pressure), because in Thailand we also usually deal with the situation," said Thailand team manager Bossui.