Chiang Rai, Thailand (CNN) – The 12 members of a youth soccer team and their coach who spent more than two weeks trapped underground in a flooded cave network in northern Thailand have appeared in public for the first time since their ordeal.
The boys, who were discharged from hospital on Wednesday, appeared in front of the world’s media at a specially arranged press conference in Chiang Rai.
Dressed in matching team shirts, the boys and their coach were greeted at the press center by other members of the Wild Boar youth soccer team. They then sat with some of their doctors on a stage in front of a giant poster that said "sending the Wild Boars home."
The boys all introduced themselves to the media, shared their nicknames and told the audience what position they played on the team. Sitting beside them were the Navy SEALs who stayed inside the cave with them once they were found.
Authorities said that more than 100 questions were sent in from members of the media, though only a handful were selected.
All 12 players and their coach had been under close supervision at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital, near the border with Myanmar, since they were rescued from the cave on July 10.
