Vijit's resignation came hard on the heels of coach Chanvit Pholchivin, who stunned football fans by leaving the national team in order to take charge at V-League outfit Dong Thap. The transfer talks collapsed at the eleventh hour, much to the relief of his admirers. To the contrary, people celebrated when Vijit put in his papers.

At the helm since 1996, Vijit rarely found time in power a pleasurable experience. Whenever the Thai team failed to deliver the result many expected of them in any international tournament, the first person most of the fans pointed their finger at was Vijit. He was perpetually the fall guy.

The anti-Vijit camp had said many times that if Vijit remained, the Thai team would never win anything except a SEA Games title once every two years. They felt football development under Vijit's leadership had come to a standstill while other regional countries were progressing.

The thick-skinned Vijit was unperturbed by criticism from the media and fans. He preferred to turn a deaf ear to his critics. And it appeared as if he would hold on to his post like Joao Havelange, Primo Nebiolo and Jose Sulaiman, who reigned for almost quarter of a century.

Last Thursday, when Vijit made his announcement, it came like a bolt from the blue, especially to the opposition camp. People doubted the veracity of the news and pinched themselves really, really hard.

The other side is greener

What will Danai Udomchoke do to get over the agony of losing a tennis match? Perhaps take a few good swings on the fairways and putts on the greens as a way to soothe his feelings.

Danai after the disappointing loss to Chile's Paul Capdeville in the final qualifying of the Indian Wells Masters Series found comfort on a golf course somewhere in California. He teed off alongside his Czech coach Jan Storces, swinging away without any concern, unlike in tennis where he is bothered whether the shot will hit the net or land inside the court.

"Golf is fun," said Danai who will succeed Paradorn as the Kingdom's new No 1 player next week. "It's quite a good way to relax and you have friends alongside you, whereas in tennis you are all alone on the court."

But unlike Scott Draper, the tennis star has no plans to drop his racquet and pursue a career on the greens. His average of one bogey a hole indicates that golf is not suitable for a mid-career switch.

The energising lie

It is neither easy to win an adventure race nor finish the competition as the sport requires physical endurance and mental patience.

Kiarttisak Prem-anan, a member of the team that won the men's overall title in the North Face River Kwai Trophy, said his partner Jongsak Kaew-in was the key to their success. "He had a unique way to encourage me when I was almost dead on my feet," said the 52-year-old Kiarttisak.

"When I didn't want to continue anymore, my buddy would tell a lie that 10 teams were catching up with us. That immediately made me forget my exhaustion and carry on energetically," he chuckled.