Thailand's star right-back Narubadin Weerawatnodom is focused on the defending champions' first Group B game against Laos, but would prefer to meet Indonesia over Singapore should they make the final on Jun. 15.
For a 20-year-old footballer who only turned professional in 2012, 'Ton' -- as he is affectionately known back home -- has a medal cabinet that is the envy of even the most seasoned Southeast Asian players.
His collection reads like a roll-of-honour with one SEA Games gold medal from 2013, a 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup champions medallion, a 2014 Thai League Cup along AFF U19 Youth Championship winners medal to add to his blockbuster move from BEC Tero Sasana to Thai domestic giant Buriram United at the turn of the year.
He is part of Thailand national team coach Kiatisuk 'Zico' Senamuang's golden generation, the same batch of youngsters who won the last SEA Games, consisting of Charyl Chappuis, Chanathip Songkrasin, Tanaboon Kesarat and Peerapat Notechaiya.
Come May 29, Narubadin is confident that he can add another medal to the collection when the War Elephants seek to conquer the SEA Games men's football tournament once again, but warns his side against complacency as they take on Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Timor-Leste and Laos in Group B.
"We come into this tournament [SEA Games] with confidence to retain our title," Ton told ESPN FC. "But there are many good teams in ASEAN like Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. We cannot think of any opponent as easy and we must have full concentration and focus if we are to reach the final."
Thai U23 coach Choktawee Promrat agreed with the defender when he spoke to the media after training on Wednesday at Nanyang Polytechnic, preferring to focus on his Group B matches, instead of looking too far ahead.
Choktawee said: "We have five games to play and my focus is on that. We don't want to bother about what happens in Group A and whether Indonesia are coming or not. We take it one game at a time. Vietnam are fast and their fitness level is very good while Malaysia have very good technical players so we have to be at our best.
"For Laos [Thailand's first game is against Laos on Friday], I'm not looking at many goals. We are aiming to open the tournament with a win to give the players confidence for the games later so a victory is more than enough for us."
Despite Malaysia and Vietnam looking good enough to topple the reigning champions, it could be hard work for any of Southeast Asia's defence to stop the marauding runs of left-back Peerapat and Narubadin, who gave a masterclass of the modern day wing-back role at last year's Suzuki Cup.
While success seems to have come easy for Narubadin, his rise to fame also means that he has not had a break since the 2014 Suzuki Cup tournament, with his new club Buriram involved in the AFC Champions League and also the Thai Premier League.
Not that he is complaining of fatigue, the heartthrob who draws hundreds of fans per game, waiting for him to sign autographs and have their photos taken with him wants to keep living the dream.
He added: "Of course I feel tired sometimes but I cannot let myself think like this. This is all part of football and if you are professional, you must take recovery sessions and the little time you have to rest seriously. I'm used to it now and at this age, I want to keep playing and do well for Buriram and Thailand and prove myself."
Having beaten Indonesia 1-0 in the 2013 SEA Games final held in Myanmar, courtesy of a 22nd minute goal from Sarawut Masuk, Narubadin is hoping for a repeat of that game, should Thailand live up to the tag of pre-tournament favourites.
"I want to play Indonesia if we go to final but now, I take it game by game. Cannot think so far," he said. "If we do get there, Indonesia is my choice because this is Singapore's home ground and if we play them in final, they will be very confident and motivated because their friends and family will fill the stadium. So Indonesia is the better choice, more chance!"
As for his individual target during the games, Ton daringly declared that while he played a bit-part role in the last SEA Games, he is now ready to be one of the leaders on the pitch and knows the importance of his role down the flanks, where he provides the ammunition for attackers like Pinyo Inpinit and Nurul Sriyankem to score.
He added: "Last time I was a substitute but now, hopefully I'm in the eleven. This gives me a lot of confidence and I would love to score but I'm playing as defender so maybe must come from corner or set-piece play.
"For me, I play right wing or wing-back so I must support when we attack. I'm targeting at least two or three assists during this tournament to help the team win every game we play. That will be a good achievement for me."
Thailand open their title defence against Laos at the Bishan Stadium on Friday and the War Elephants will be seeking their sixth SEA Games men's football gold medal (15 titles in all) since the tournament became an U23 format in 2001.