In pics | Thailand sets new world record for largest Muay Thai ceremony
Record number of participants perform 'Wai Khru' ceremony
The sunset gathering took place at Hua Hin, a village in Thailand, 3,660 participants simultaneously performed the traditional pre-match dance of respect for their coach as a part of the Muay Thai Festival and broke the previous Guinness World Record of 250.
Pre-fight 'Wai Khru' dance of respect under the watchful eyes of six massive statues of former kings
The pre-fight dance showing respect to teachers, parents, and ancestors was performed, on Monday, under the watchful eyes of the massive statues of former kings of Thailand in a parade ground at Rajabhakti Park in front of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha.
Red uniform with white Mongkhon headbands
The Thai army cadets, university students and volunteers who helped achieve this feat donned red uniforms with white Mongkhon headbands, as well as white Muay Kard Chuek ropes which are made of hemp that fighters wore before gloves.
Directed by famed Muay Thai fighter
The phalanx of barefoot men was directed in near-perfect unison by famed Muay Thai fighter Sombat "Buakaw" Banchamek on the sun-baked sheets of concrete, report AFP.
The sport is known as the 'art of the eight limbs' and as the name suggests boxers are allowed to strike opponents with combinations of legs, knees, elbows and fists.
'You're officially amazing': Guinness adjudicator
The image shows Guinness adjudicator, Kazayoshi Kirimura who said that the previous record for this title was 250 people, as per Reuters.
While making the official announcement that the record has been broken, he said, "The final result is three-thousand six hundred and sixty. Congratulations, you’re officially amazing".
Royal Thai Army logo on uniform
The image shows the Royal Thai Army logo on the participants' uniforms. Speaking to AFP, a 50-year-old Hua Hin local who lives near the army grounds where the performance took place said she knew that the army cadets had been practising for a month.
"I like to watch, but boxing is scary," said June Rubyung, who had brought her grandson to watch the performance.
Fireworks after the traditional ceremony
The evening sky was lit with fireworks as the record-breaking pre-fight dance and traditional ceremony organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Royal Thai Army, as well as the country's culture and sports ministries came to an end.
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