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(Refuses to fix the erroneous main letter to "n" instead of "h")
By Panu Wongcha-um and Patpicha Tanakasempipat
CHIANG RAI, Thailand, July 12 (Reuters) – A coach from Football saved with This week, a team of 12 people from a flooded cave in Thailand is a kind and humble young man who loves sport and hopes to become a Thai citizen, said a relative and a friend Thursday.
The coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, or Ek as he is known, was examined as the only adult of the group of 13 who was trapped in the cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai on June 23 during an expedition.
Ek, 25, with the 12 boys, has been hospitalized since his extraction and has not publicly spoken of the ordeal, nor of how the group was trapped by the floodwaters after a
He showed remorse in a note to the boys' parents that the rescuers came out of the cave, apologizing and swearing to take "the best care" of the boys.
"Ek is a kind and humble man," said one of his relatives, Charoenpol Rattanaweerachon, 52 years old.
"He's a country boy and he loves nature.
Attention is also focused on the status of Ek in Thailand
He is a member of the Tai Lue minority, one of many groups whose members crossed the region through the open borders between southern China, Myanmar and Laos, and in the ethnic patchwork of communities in northern Thailand
. Weenat Seesuk, an official of the Interior Ministry in Bangkok, said that Ek and three of the boys rescued from the "Wild Boars" football team were stateless.
"They are not Thai citizens," Weenat told Reuters. , adding that officials were checking to see if many Thais in social media say that boys and their coach should receive citizenship after their ordeal.
"He would like to become a Thai citizen" Charoenpol
recounting the life of Ek, Charoenpol says he was ordained Buddhist novice at the age of 10, after the death of his father.
He remained in a temple in Chiang Mai Province until the age of 20.
Ek did odd jobs and lived a simple life, often sleeping in a monastery perched on a hill or with friends in the Mae Sai town on the border of Myanmar, not far from the cave complex.
Some people wondered if Ek's experience as a Buddhist monk had helped him stay calm and help the children, during their ordeal in the flooded cave of Tham Luang.
"I think he has helped a lot children … a novice monk for 10 years," Charoenpol said.
Chanta Chaichim, the mother of Duangpetch Promthep, 13, the captain rescued from "wild boars," said the young coach was like a father to his son.
"He's even washing his clothes after practice," Chanta told Reuters. A few hours before he and the boys were trapped, he posted a last video of "wild boars" practicing under a cloudy sky.
Charoenpol said that Ek would be He was warmly welcomed into the community when he left the hospital.
"He must feel guilty now, but I would say that he has nothing to fear." (Additional report by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Amy Sawitta Lefevre at BANGKOK and John Geddie at CHIANG RAI Editorial by Amy Sawitta Lefevre Editing by Robert Birsel)
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