Last updated: 10 Aug 2026 | 8 Views |
Thai Para-Snooker Heroes Turn Darkness to Light, Win 4 Golds
The click of cue against ball echoed through the SPADT Convention Centre in Nakhon Ratchasima. It's a sound every snooker fan knows by heart. But for anyone standing courtside between June 16 and 21, 2026, that sound carried a weight far beyond an ordinary tournament.
Because the athletes leaning over that green baize table weren't ordinary players. They were para-athletes fighting physical limitations with every cue they raised. Some had limited vision. Some competed from wheelchairs. But there was one thing that had no limitations at all: the focus and precision they had spent a lifetime building.
Thailand hosted the 2026 World Disability Snooker Championship, and playing on home soil, the Thai para-snooker squad refused to let the moment slip away.
The headline moment came in the final, where Thongkiat Rebankao was simply unstoppable. He dismantled Pakistan's Shahzad Butt without conceding a single frame, closing out a commanding 4-0 victory to claim the world title in his class.
But one title was only the beginning. Thailand swept four world championships in total, led by two seasoned campaigners — Thanapol Seekhao, known as "Bom Bangkhang," and Songkrit Rebankao, known as "Pae Mahathai" — both two-time world champions dating back to the 2023 World Abilitysport Games. They were joined on the podium by Nampol Thongphusawan in the WC1 class and Surasith Loor Isarategun in the WC2 class, both bringing medals home as well.
The achievement was significant enough that the President of the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand publicly celebrated the team's success. Because this wasn't just a win on a snooker table — it was proof to the world that physical limits were never limits of the heart.
When the trophies were raised above their heads on home soil in Korat, they weren't just symbols of victory. They were light breaking through a darkness many assumed would define their path forever. Thailand's para-snooker team proved that whether you can see clearly or not, whether you can walk or not, the thing that carries a person to the top of the world never stops being the same: relentless will.
