ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS featured a series of compelling bouts, punctuated by two unforgettable championship clashes that left fans on the edge of their seats.

In the main event, Filipino-American superstar Brandon Vera successfully defended his ONE Heavyweight World Championship against Italian challenger Mauro Cerilli.

In the co-main event, Eduard Folayang of the Philippines defeated Singapore’s Amir Khan via unanimous decision to capture the vacant ONE Lightweight World Championship.

In the main event, reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera of the Philippines made quick work of Italy’s Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli, stopping his opponent with a well-placed left hook counter to the jaw that turned the lights out on the Italian. After an aggressive Cerilli stalked Vera across the cage, the Filipino-American took a step back and uncorked the counter that landed right on the button. Cerilli was out before he hit the canvas as referee Olivier Coste stepped in to call a halt to the contest just passed the one minute mark. The victory also earned Vera GoDaddy KO of the Night honors.

Brandon Vera, ONE Heavyweight World Champion, stated: “Manila, all my countrymen, I’ve missed you all. Two years was a long time. I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long, but it looks like I can still do it. I’ve been watching Mauro’s tapes every night. Even as I sleep, I watch him train. I watch him fight. I watch everything he does. I know he swings hard. He did punch me in the mouth and it hurt, and then when he fell down, I was pretty surprised. So I’m glad I got that left hook in and dropped him with it. In the world of martial arts, the Philippines owns five world titles. We can do this. Continue your support. Let’s get all the belts!”

In the co-main event of the evening, the Philippines’ Eduard “Landslide” Folayang secured a thrilling five-round unanimous decision victory over Singapore’s Amir Khan to capture the vacant ONE Lightweight World Championship. Folayang dominated Khan from start to finish, punishing his younger opponent with a variety of striking combinations featuring spinning heel kicks and sharp elbows. Khan tried his best to counter Folayang’s offense, but appeared a step slower and couldn’t pin down Folayang’s timing. In the end, all three judges saw the bout in favor of Folayang.

Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario of the Philippines overcame a game effort from challenger Rahul “The Kerala Krusher” Raju of Singapore to win by unanimous decision after three rounds. Banario dominated Raju in striking exchanges while also threatening with submissions in the first round. Raju made it a competitive bout in the second frame, but Banario came alive once again in the third and nearly finished the Singaporean with a rear naked choke. In the end, all three judges saw the bout in favor of Banario.

In a spirited ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest, bantamweights Saemapetch Fairtex of Thailand and Alaverdi Ramazanov of Russia put on an absolute show for fans at the Mall of Asia Arena. Ramazanov used his height and length to pose problems for Saemapetch early, but the Thai veteran would start to come on in the second round. Although Ramazanov would try his best to outwork his opponent, Saemapetch proved much too explosive and powerful. After three rounds of action, all three judges saw the bout in favor of Saemapetch to win by unanimous decision.

James Nakashima of the United States authored a solid all-around performance in his ONE Championship debut, dominating Russia’s Raimond Magomedaliev to earn a unanimous decision victory. Nakashima bucked a slow start in the first round after Magomedaliev’s range posed a problem for the former American National Wrestling Champion. Nakashima’s grappling prowess was put on display in the succeeding rounds as he took Magomedaliev down at will and consistently pounded him out. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Nakashima.

Japanese kickboxing ace Hiroaki Suzuki was victorious in his ONE Super Series debut, picking up a unanimous decision win over Lithuania’s Deividas Danyla. Danyla controlled the pace in the opening round, but Suzuki connected on a left hook that sent Danyla to the mat to close the first frame. In the second round, Danyla continued to put the paces on Suzuki who appeared to grow stronger as the bout wore on. In the third round, Suzuki turned up the pressure with a stream of thunderous kicks and punch combinations, enough to earn him the nod on all three judges’ scorecards.

French Muay Thai star Samy “AK-47” Sana picked up his first win on the ONE Super Series stage with a unanimous decision victory over Armen Petrosyan of Italy in their three-round kickboxing contest. The former WBC and A1 Muay Thai World Champion was dominant from bell to bell, rattling Petrosyan with swift combinations. Petrosyan managed to keep the bout competitive, but Sana was always a step ahead, and he took home a clear-cut decision win.

In a clash between former ONE World Title contenders, Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado of Brazil returned to his winning ways with a spectacular second-round stoppage victory over Japan’s Hideki “Shrek” Sekine. Machado survived a strong first round from the Japanese grappler as he was taken down with a flurry of effective slams. In the second round, Machado showcased his striking superiority as he hammered Sekine with a barrage of heavy punches to claim the technical knockout.

Han Zi Hao took home a first-round technical knockout victory over Malaysian debutant Azwan Che Wil. Both men employed fiery offense from the start with Han utilizing his speed and power to connect on a handful of thudding strikes, knocking Che Wil down late in the first round. With a few seconds remaining in the opening frame, Han dropped Che Wil again, this time with the Malaysian signalling to the referee that he could no longer continue. The victory was then awarded to the Chinese striker.

Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado of the Philippines sent the crowd into a frenzy with a second-round technical knockout victory over China’s Peng Xue Wen. Miado looked to trade hands early on, clipping Peng with solid punches from different angles. With Peng opting to continue exchanging strikes in the second round, Miado capitalized on the opportunity, dropping his opponent to the mat with a stinging right uppercut and then drilling a barrage of follow-up blows to force the stoppage.

In an intense battle between ONE Warrior Series alumni, Akihiro “SuperJap” Fujisawa of Japan emerged triumphant, scoring a third-round technical knockout victory over Bangkok-based Filipino standout Rockie Bactol. Fujisawa had to weather an early storm, defending against Bactol’s blazing punch combinations in the first round. He turned the tide in the second frame, negating Bactol’s striking with his top-notch ground game. In the final period, Fujisawa grinded out Bactol on the mat for the majority of the round before securing the finish with a series of hard blows.

Setting the tone for an action-packed evening was a three-round flyweight encounter between Rudy “The Golden Boy” Agustian and Asraful “Warrior” Islam. Agustian turned in a dominant performance, outclassing Islam over the course of three rounds. Banking on his superior striking and smoothly-executed takedowns, Agustian walked away with the clear-cut unanimous decision victory.

Official results for ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS

ONE Heavyweight World Championship bout: Brandon Vera defeats Mauro Cerilli by Knockout (KO) at 1:04 minutes of round 1

ONE Lightweight World Championship bout: Eduard Folayang defeats Amir Khan by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds

Catch Weight bout (79.0kgs): Honorio Banario defeats Rahul Raju by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Muay Thai Bantamweight bout: Saemapetch Fairtex defeats Alaverdi Ramazanov by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Welterweight bout: James Nakashima defeats Raimond Magomedaliev by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Bantamweight bout: Hiroaki Suzuki defeats Deividas Danyla by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Catch Weight bout (73.0kgs): Samy Sana defeats Armen Petrosyan by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Heavyweight bout: Alexandre Machado defeats Hideki Sekine by TKO  at 1:44 minutes of round 2

ONE Super Series Muay Thai Bantamweight bout: Han Zi Hao defeats Azwan Che Wil by TKO (Referee Stoppage) at 2:52 minutes of round 1

Strawweight bout: Jeremy Miado defeats Peng Xue Wen by TKO (Strikes) at 0:53 minutes of round 2

Flyweight bout: Akihiro Fujisawa defeats Rockie Bactol by TKO (Strikes) at 4:40 minutes of round 3

Flyweight bout: Rudy Agustian defeats Asraful Islam by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

The two-time defending champions, with wins over Timor Leste and Indonesia and a draw with the Philippines to date head into the weekend atop the group by goal difference from the Philippines who also have seven points from three matches.

Singapore, one point back in third, can only reach the semi-finals if they score a shock win in the Thai capital, a scenario that would send the five-time champions out of the tournament if Philippines avoid defeat against Indonesia on the same day.

In their eight Suzuki Cup games against Singapore, Thailand have won four times with two draws and two defeats.

Recent history favours the Kingdom, however, with three victories since 2012.

Thailand have been widely criticised on social media about playing too defensively under coach Milovan Rajevac, a strategy some fans believe led to the Philippines’s late equaliser in Bacolod on Wednesday.

However, the Serbian coach always made it clear a miserly defence was his highest priority ever since he took the job in 2016.

To get past Singapore and achieve the ultimate goal of retaining the crown, Rajevac admits his players must take some risks while at the same time never allow their guard to drop.

He said he had kept his eyes on Singapore’s games and he stressed his side must be fully focused at all times in Sunday’s showdown.

“Singapore were the better team against the Philippines but they were unlucky to lose a goal. Against Indonesia, they were obviously the better side. We have to be really focused against them,” said Rajevac.

The Serbian also mentioned Singaporean forwarders Faris Ramli, 26, and Ikhsan Fandi, 19, as two potential players who are capable of posing threats to the Thai team.

“Ramli and Fandi always create good scoring opportunities. But Singapore is strong overall, so there’s never a plan to mark any particular player,” he said.

The Thailand coach also regarded Singapore’s set pieces as one feature his players must be wary of.

“We have to be careful with their set pieces. In the game with Indonesia, we didn’t cope with corners very well. We are trying to improve in this area,” he added.

The Thai-Singapore game kicks off at the Rajamangala National Stadium at 7pm. Channel 7 HD will beam live coverage of the match.

The top two teams from each group will proceed to the knock-out stage which starts on December 1.

The 26-year-old Joshi won his maiden Asian Tour title on home soil last month. Buoyed by his recent achievement, the Bengaluru-based golfer will be brimming with confidence when he tees up at the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita next week.

On winning his first Asian Tour title, he said: “It has raised my personal expectations and reshaped my goals. I’m glad to see to see that there are big events like the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open coming up and I’m looking to finish the year strong.”

Joshi recognised his shortcomings at his previous two Mauritius Open tournaments (he missed the cut in 2016 and 2017) but this year, armed with an improved game plan and a winning mindset, he will be prepared for the challenging conditions at the wind-swept island nation.

“I haven’t had a lot of success at the Mauritius Open in the previous two years but nevertheless, it has always been one of my favourite venues on Tour. Being next to the ocean, the course condition is set to be very windy and it’ll be a great test of golf. The key is to keep the ball low, which is what I’m working on.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge. My aim is to play consistently, keep the ball in play and hopefully come Sunday, I’ll be in contention,” said Joshi.

He will be part of an elite 156-man field that features more than 20 Asian Tour champions, including Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski and Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva, who both like Joshi, have won for the first time on Tour this season.

Joining them are this season’s multiple-time champions, South African Justin Harding and American John Catlin. They are currently ranked sixth and seventh on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings respectively.

Other notable golfers are World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els, who will be making his debut in the tournament as well as defending champion Dylan Frittelli and two-time European Tour champion, Nicolas Colsaerts.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, inaugurated in 2015, is the first tournament in international golf to be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

The event was held in anticipation of the blockbuster event, ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS, which takes place at the Axiata Arena on Friday, 7 December. Photos of the event can be downloaded here.

Some of the ONE Championship athletes attending the ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS Media Party were Agilan “Alligator” Thani, Keanu Subba, Gianni Subba, Peter Davis, Ann “Athena” Osman, Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan, Saiful “The Vampire” Merican, and Mohammed Bin Mahmoud.

Ticket information for ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS is available at http://www.onefc.com.

For official photos of the Media Party, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m22ffw611usm365/AAB-m-MfjwyeewmObzwigDZBa?dl=0

Former ONE Welterweight World Title challenger Agilan Thani is one of the most remarkable athletes Malaysia has ever produced. Ever since making his debut, the man they call “Alligator” has torn through the competition. Unbeaten as an amateur, Thani captured a Malaysian national championship before turning professional, winning six bouts in a row on the global stage of ONE Championship to earn a shot at the title. The top contender trains daily at Monarchy MMA in Kuala Lumpur but also regularly travels to the United States to sharpen his skills at the world-famous Team Quest. His next opponent is Kiamrian Abbasov.

Gianni Subba has forged a reputation as one of the most exciting talents to watch in the ONE cage. He spent his childhood growing up in both Hawaii and his mother’s hometown of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, but he left at the age of 16 to finish his education in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in the United States, he learned to wrestle. In 2010, he decided to move back to Malaysia in order to pursue his dreams as a professional mixed martial artist. Since then, he has defeated several former world title challengers to cement his place at the top of a stacked flyweight division. He takes on Ma Hao Bin in his next assignment.

Former Wushu World Champion and MIMMA Women’s Champion Jihin “Shadowcat” Radzuan is one of the finest female martial artists to emerge from Malaysia. Her first exposure to martial arts was a brief stint training in silat when she was six years old. She soon discovered Ultimate MMA Academy, and after just three months of training, she competed in Muay Thai for the first time. Driven by a hunger to compete, she followed that up with bouts in wushu, BJJ, kickboxing, and boxing, capturing a wushu world championship along the way. She joined ONE Championship in March 2018, and has since put together two impressive victories. Radzuan resumes her ascent through the ranks by facing Jenny Huang.

Mohammed “Jordan Boy” Mahmoud is a professional martial artist from Malaysia set to make his ONE Super Series debut. The 22-year-old went undefeated as an amateur, before turning professional, amassing a 50-7 record. Along the way, Mahmoud has won multiple titles, including the PLG Tournament Championship and MuayFight Championship, among others. He now finds his way to the bright lights of ONE Championship and looks to make a name for himself amongst the world’s best strikers. In his first outing for the promotion, Mahmoud takes on Stergos Mikkios.

Agilan Thani, ONE Athlete, stated: 

“I think my opponent (Kiamrian Abbasov) is pretty tough. He went three rounds with Luis Santos. He has pretty awkward footwork and I think he’s a tough dude. I’m looking forward to fighting him. I’ve been preparing as usual, like how I always do. So expect a lot of the same action and explosiveness from me. I always come to fight and I never back down from any challenge. I’m looking forward to the match.”

Gianni Subba, ONE Athlete, stated:

“I think Ma Hao Bin is a young and strong opponent. He has great cardio and is very aggressive. My preparation for the fight has been good. I have split my time between Kuala Lumpur and Bali, working on everything. My opponent is very tough, so I’ve worked on all areas of my game, wrestling, and BJJ. I worked a lot on my cardio as well. I want to push the pace in this fight and look for a finish.”

Jihin Radzuan, ONE Athlete, stated: 

“Facing a former World Title challenger, I think it’s a good test for me. She (Jenny Huang) has good grappling skills, so it will be interesting to see how we match up together on the ground. I am proud to represent Malaysia on the biggest global stage of competition. Doing what I love to do, I am very lucky. I am working very hard at improving my skills so I can make my fans and my country proud.”

Mohammed Bin Mahmoud, ONE Athlete, stated: 

“I’ve seen a couple of his (Stergos Mikkios) fights and he is a great athlete. His boxing and low kicks are very good but I’m confident I can handle what he has in store for me. I’m a more technical athlete, and whenever I start a fight I always attack very patiently. For my first battle, I want to bring the knockout home. This is the biggest ever match in my career and better still in my hometown, Kuala Lumpur. I want the best knockout of the night and make my country proud.”

ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS is set for the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday, 7 December. The card features a series of top Malaysian athletes, as well as the absolute best in international martial arts talent. In the main event, Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex of Thailand takes on Luis Regis of Australia in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

The talented pair, who also represented India at the 2013 World Cup of Golf, took advantage of their fine form to sign for a flawless card highlighted by eight birdies at The Metropolitan Golf Club.

They trail leaders Korea (Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim), England (Tyrell Hatton and Ian Poulter) and Australia (Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith) by two shots in tied-seventh place.

Lahiri and Bhullar hailed their great collaboration as they managed to feed off the positive energy from each other to put themselves in contention at the prestigious US$7 million event, which is celebrating its 59th edition this week.

The duo hopes to leverage their strengths effectively as they head into the Foursomes (alternate shot) match on Friday, where they will play alongside Team Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne.

Team India is part of the six two-man Asian teams in the field vying to hoist the famous trophy in the event, won previously by many legends of the games.

Team Malaysia (Ben Leong and Gavin Green) trails the leading trio by one shot in tied-fourth place while Team Japan (Satoshi Kodaira and Hideto Tanihara) and Team China (Li Haotong and Wu Ashun) are tied in 12th following matching 66s.

Team Thailand of Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Prom Meesawat came in a further shot back in tied-19th following a 67.

Atwal took the clubhouse lead in the morning but was dislodged from the top of the leaderboard when the trio made their moves at the Hong Kong Golf Club under more favourable weather conditions in the afternoon.

Based in Florida in the United States, the 45-year-old flew into Hong Kong ready to put up a performance befitting of his reputation as one of Asia’s golf legends.

Atwal, who is no stranger to success having won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2003 and enjoying multiple victories across Asia, Europe and the United States, returned with a flawless card that was highlighted by four birdies on holes one, three, four and 17.

Australia’s Sam Brazel, who won the Hong Kong Open in 2016, was also in the mix after carding a 68 where the only blemish on his card came at the par-three eight where he suffered a bogey-four.

Brazel is bunched in tied-ninth place that also includes Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, India’s Khalin Joshi and compatriot Scott Hend, who also won the event in 2014.

Major winner Patrick Reed of the United States meanwhile had a round to forget after opening his campaign with a disappointing 75 while Spain’s Sergio Garcia signed for a 70 to stay five shots back of the leaders.

Supachai Jaided 

The War Elephants took the lead through rising star Supachai Jaided, only to watch in horror as the home team levelled in the final minutes when Jovin Bedic’s deflected shot hit a post and rolled over the line.

 The draw meant the two teams remain joint leaders with two wins and a draw from their three games, although Thailand has the edge in terms of goal difference, 15 to the Philippines’ five.

Thailand, with five wins to date, is the most successful team in the biennial tournament’s history and is bidding to complete a hat-trick of triumphs this year.

Rajevac was philosophical after watching his side drop their first points.

“Both teams worked really hard and the result was fair. Since Sven-Goran Eriksson came, the Philippines have introduced interesting tactics and are one of the teams to watch,” he said.

On the fluke equaliser, he added: “It was just unfortunate — the ball deflected into the net. But that’s the way football is. We have to live with it.”

Thailand’s final group game is against Singapore at 7pm on Sunday and will be shown live on Channel 7.

“Our players have four days to recover before that game. We still have the same goal to be top of the group after Sunday and we will work our best to achieve the target,” Rajevac said.

Despite making a clean sweep of all the major LPGA awards this year, world No 1 Ariya Jutanugarn still believes she has room to improve as she returned home last night for a busy month in Thailand.

Ariya, the first player in the history to win Player of the Year, 2018 No 1, Race to CME Globe, Annika Major Award, LPGA Vare Trophy, Top 10 Leaders and No 1 Money List in the same season, and her sister Moriya will spend a month at home taking part in many sponsor events and exhibition events.

In fact she started working as soon as she arrived back, appearing at Bangkok’s new shopping complex landmark Iconsiam as its brand ambassador.

Ariya and her older sister Moriya also took part in the Loy Krathong festival, a traditional event where Thais send out away floating baskets in the river to ask for forgiveness from the Goddess of the River.

“I didn’t expect such a successful year,” said Ariya. “I told Pia [Nilsson] and Lynn [Marriott] (her coaches) that the main focus this year is to have a good attitude.

“I knew I had to work a lot on that aspect as I really needed to improve,” added Ariya, who turns 23 today.

Ariya is also the only player to win three events this year: the Kingsmill Championship, Scottish Open and the US Open, her second Major after the 2016 British Open.

“[In the past] I wanted to win every trophy. But thinking that way never helped me. Last year when I started thinking about being world No1 and wanted to win more tournaments, things got worse.

“So we’ve worked on that and I’ve achieved my goals quite well this year,” added Ariya, who said she still had several areas to fix before next season.

“I have room to improve. I still hope to have a better year in 2019,” said Ariya, whose total prize money this year is more than $2.7 million.

Airya also said she was excited to have finally been able to participate in the Thai festival for the first time in many years. “I haven’t been able to celebrate it because I normally spend this time of the year in the US. So I had to do it online instead,” she said.

Moriya, meanwhile, she set her sights on winning more trophies after claiming her maiden LPGA title, the Los Angeles Open in April.

“I need to improve to another level and have a better season. Winning another LPGA event is definitely my next goal,” she said.

The Jutanugarn sisters will have only a week’s break before embarking on a tight schedule in December.

Their schedule includes the Mo-May Golf Charity at the Alpine Golf Course in Pathumthani on December 3 and the Amata Friendship Cup at the Amata Spring Country Club 23 in Chon Buri from December 21 to 23

The best of the best however, possess the perfect combination of talent and impeccable work ethic. Such is the case with Muay Thai legend Saemapetch Fairtex.

Representing the famed Fairtex Gym in Pattaya, Thailand, Saemapetch looks to continue his winning ways when he meets the streaking Alaverdi “Dagger” Ramazanov in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS on Friday, 23 November in Manila.The Thai martial arts hero is coming off a victory over Deividas Danyla back in July.

Born and raised in Chiang Mai, life was hard for Saemapetch and his family. Living in poverty, their primary source of income was collecting plastic bottles used for recycling.

At the age of 11 however, Saemapetch stumbled onto the martial art that would ultimately turn his life around.

Knowing that it would be a way to help earn money for his family, Saemapetch decided to give Muay Thai a serious try after being invited by the town mayor.

“As a kid, the only way to make money in our country is to fight,” Saemapetch shared via ONE Championship’s official website. “I decided to start training, and I had my first bout at a temple festival.”

Immediately, Saemapetch saw his own talent and potential, and knew that if he dedicated his life to the sport, it would be a way to bring his family up from poverty.

“I wanted to do this to support my family and provide them with a good life,” he stated.

Pairing his skills with hard work, Saemapetch evolved into a talented student of the martial art and was soon on his way to stardom.

Three years after first deciding to take up “The Art of Eight Limbs”, Saemapetch made it onto the big stage as he debuted at the famed Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok, where many world champions have been made.

Even while fulfilling a childhood dream of serving in the military, Saemapetch’s love for martial arts shone through.

“I served in the Thai military for two years,” he explained. “I competed in the army’s amateur boxing championships, and I was the tournament winner in 2017 at 63 kilograms.”

Eventually, Saemapetch shifted his focus back to Muay Thai and has since become a bonafide star in his home country.

Now, the 23-year old is a veteran of over well over 100 professional Muay Thai bouts, boasting a 115-16-1 professional record.

Some of his accolades include the Tiger Cement Tournament Championship at the Channel 7 Stadium and the Muay Thai Grand Prix Welterweight World Championship.

Competing on the biggest stage of martial arts in the world, Saemapetch has just one goal in mind.

“I want to win a ONE World Title and be one of the top fighters in the world,” he concluded.

The two teams came into the Group B encounter in first and second in the group, locked together on six points, with Thailand ahead on goal difference only, so both teams were desperate for all three points knowing it would all but secure their place in the knockout rounds.

Having scored seven goals in his first two games of the tournament, Adisak Kraisorn is a player full of confidence and he showed that in just the second minute when he tried an audacious lob of Michael Falkesgaard from half way.

The Azkals first clear chance came after half an hour when Stephan Schrock’s cross was headed over by Patrick Reichelt.

Japanese-born winger Daisuke Sato then had a chance to open the scoring for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side, but after nice build up place from Schrock he pulled his effort wide.

Coming out for the second half it was the home side who again created a glorious chance, but this time Phil Younghusband hit his close range effort straight at Chatchai Budprom.

The Philippines would be made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal on 56 minutes when some quick one-touch passing saw Philip Roller played into space down the right, crossing the ball into the area where Supachai Jaided poked home to give Thailand the lead.

But just as Thailand looked headed for their third straight defeat a goalkeeping error gifted the home side an equaliser.

Bedic’s shot from the edge of the area was deflected, striking the post and rolling across the front of goal, with the ball curling just out of the reach of Chatchai, who tried valiantly to keep the ball out.

The draw means Thailand and Philippines stay locked at No 1 and 2 of Group B, both on seven points, just one ahead of Singapore heading into the final matches on Sunday. Thailand play host to Singapore in Bangkok, while the Philippines travel to Jakarta to take on an already-eliminated Indonesia.