EDWARD THANGARAJAH

The Thai women's sprint relay team have missed out on an Olympic berth.

The blow for the Thai squad came on Monday in Greece where Trinidad displaced the Kingdom's quartet and took the 16th spot in the world which the Thai women had earned prior to Monday.

''It was bad luck for the Thai women because they have been training hard, hoping to run in Beijing, national coach Supanas Ariyamongkul said yesterday.

''But our women's javelin champion Buoban Pamang, 100m sprinter Juthamas Thavorncharoen, high jumperNungruthai Chaipetch and heptathlete Wasana Winatho have qualified for the Beijing Games.''

The men's sprint relay team, however, have retained the 16th spot and will go to Beijing. They have qualified as the 16th best team in the world having clocked 38.95 seconds earlier.

The Thai women had high hopes of taking the flight to Beijing until Monday when they received the bad news that they have been displaced.

In another development, the Thai junior men's team earned the honour of running in the final of the World Junior Championships in Poland and finished eighth on Monday.