Thitipong learned some hard lessons when he competed in the Senior Asian Gymnastics Championship in India in August.

A lack of concentration cost the 23-year-old, a pommel horse specialist, in the Asian championships in Surat, India, when he saw his opportunity to win a bronze medal evaporate. His spectacular performance in the preliminary round earned him 15.10 points, the second best behind the 15.15 mark of South Korean Kim Soon-myun. However, an erratic landing in the final prompted the judges to cut 0.3 points off his score. His 14.750 points put him down to fifth place instead of finishing third with 15.050.

"I was too excited. I would have won the bronze if I hadn't missed the landing," said the Chiang Mai-born Thitipong, who grew up in Phetchabun.

A lack of mental toughness is something that has been missing from the SEA Games champion and it often takes a toll in competitions. At last month's Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Denmark, he failed to keep his mind on the job and scored a below par 14.525 points.

"His mental condition has always been a problem for Thitipong. During practice he is alright, but he cannot maintain his concentration in competitions," said Srayuth Patanasak, the secretary of the Gymnastics Association of Thailand (Gat).

To correct this problem, Thitipong has simulated a real competition and recruited help from local judges to evaluate his performance during training. It paid dividends.

"We do exactly the same thing as the actual competition. The judges help by being very strict about the scores. I'm getting better and better," he said.

Thitipong and Ratchawat Kaewpanya will be the only two artistic gymnasts from Thailand in Doha. A full month's training in Moscow in September earned them new useful training programmes and tricks.

The "Thomas Spindle" is one of the new tricks Thitipong learned on his trip to Russia and he intends to demonstrate it at the Asian Games.

"It's not an easy trick and I'm working very hard to make it perfect. If I do the trick well, it will give me bonus points," said Thitipong, who is a gymnastics instructor at the Suphanburi Sports School. The Thai is confident of winning a medal in Doha. In fact, the only competitor he fears is China's Xiao Qin, who scored 16.025 to win the world title in Denmark.

"He is superhuman. He uses difficult tricks and I have never seen him miss. If he is going to Doha, he will be the heavy favourite," added Thitipong.

Apart from Xiao, Thitipong said he had as good a chance as any in the pommel horse event.

"It depends on who makes the least errors on that day. In gymnastics, you have to compete against yourself," he said.

In addition to Thitipong and Ratchawat, Tharathip Sridee and Ploychompoo Payonrat are the other members of the Thai gymnastics squad. The two women will contest the rhythmic gymnastics.

The last Thai to win an Asian Games gymnastics medal was Amornthep Waesaeng, who won the gold in the ring event in Bangkok eight years ago.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation