At time of press Thailand had amassed a healthy total of 41 medals (19 gold, 13 siver, 9 bronze) which places them a full 20 medals ahead of second-placed Indonesia.
Watcharakul “Nano” Limjittakorn won Thailand’s first gold medal with victory in the Women’s Individual Freestyle Poomsae taekwondo event on Wednesday (Dec 10) before “Bess” Methasit Bunsaneh added a second gold for the kingdom in downhill mountain biking.
The Thai wakesurfing team, consisting of Songkrod Jomboon, Patrick Wongwut MacArthur, Phuket resident Annissa Tita Flynn and Kantita Chayliam then delivered an outstanding team performance to claim gold with a total score of 240 points, with Indonesia and Malaysia coming in second and third place respectively. Making the success even sweeter was the fact it was the first ever gold medal at any SEA Games tournament for Thailand’s Extreme Sports Association.
Further gold medals were won by the Thai pétanque team, Lalita Chiaochan in Women’s Shooting and the men’s water polo competition, with the Thai team led by brothers Aiyawatt and Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha alongside Nattapong Pratumlee and Thanasin Chuawangkham, delivering an outstanding performance to defeating Brunei 8.5 to 0. The victory also marks Thailand’s first ever SEA Games gold medal in the sport.
In the swimming pool Kamonchanok Kwanmuang overcame tough opposition from former champion Quah Jing Wen of Singapore and strong contender Vo Thi My Tien of Vietnam to win gold in the Women’s 200 metre Butterfly with a time of 2 minutes 11seconds.
The Thai men’s team of Worathep Timsri, Warot Kananub, Tupfah Khumnorkaew and Tinnakrit Arunnuntapanich, defeated Indonesia to win gold in chess, while the Thai women’s hockey team their first gold medal in 30 years after they hammered Malaysia 7–1
“This is something we have waited for a very long time,” said a delighted Dato Seri Chaiyapak Siriwat, President of the Hockey Association of Thailand, after the win. “In outdoor hockey, we haven’t beaten Malaysia for many years. The last time we won the championship was at the SEA Games in Chiang Mai in 1995. We have spent many years building this team and now we have finally made history, winning Thailand’s first team gold medal in 30 years.”
Elsewhere, there were 4 golds won in Takraw, while the women’s badminton team won gold and its 7th consecutive championship after defeating Indonesia 3-1 in the final, and Kunsatri Kham Soi and Suphavadi Kaew Sasaen both won gold in Women’s Jiu Jitsu.