The hosts also impressed across a range of disciplines, from track and field to weightlifting, while Thailand’s golfers and badminton stars continued their march towards further golden finishes.
Results in badminton in particular have raised hopes of at least two more titles from one of the country’s most popular sports.
At Fashion Island, Chutikan Jongkolrattanawattana set the tone for another productive day in the ring, defeating Vietnam’s Loan Thi Nguyen 2–0 to claim the women’s 53kg gold medal.
A brief setback followed when Phannapa Harnsujin suffered a surprise 2–1 defeat to Vietnam’s Tuyet Tran Thi Anh in the women’s 57kg final, but Thailand quickly regained momentum.
Sasikarn Tongchan produced a commanding performance to overpower the Philippines’ Lillyn Chan 2–0 and secure the women’s 62kg title, before Thanapoom Fuangnoi added the fourth Thai gold of the day with a dominant win over Riley Buenavides of the Philippines in the men’s 63kg final.
Those victories ensured Thailand finished top of the taekwondo medal table with 10 golds, five silvers and four bronzes after four gruelling days of competition.
Jariya’s day in Bangkok
At Supachalasai Stadium, it was Jariya Wichaidit’s turn to shine. The Thai thrower produced a best effort of 55.64 metres on her fourth attempt to win the women’s javelin title, finishing ahead of Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuan (52.17m) and the Philippines’ Ana Espenilla (51.66m).
Parinya Chuaimaroeng settled for silver in the women’s triple jump event with a leap of 13.79m. The Philippines’ Maria Natalia Londa took the top place on the podium with a jump of 13.85m.
The previous evening, Tawan Kaeodam secured back-to-back SEA Games golds in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.22m to edge Singapore’s Kampton Kam and the Philippines’ Leonard Grospe, who both managed 2.19m.
There was another standout performance on the track from Joshua Robert Atkinson, who stormed to victory in the men’s 400m in a new SEA Games record of 45.13 seconds. Vietnam’s Tuong Ta Ngoc (45.53) and Phuc Le Ngoc (46.21) completed the podium.
Atkinson, 23, previously won four golds at the 2021 Games in Vietnam and looks poised to remain one of Thailand’s most reliable medal winners.
Five out of five for teqball
Thailand completed a clean sweep in the teqball competition, winning all five gold medals on offer in a dominant display at the SEA Games.
The hosts set the tone early when Jutatip Kuntatong cruised past Indonesia’s Dwi Putri Zikhra 2–0 in the women’s singles final, before the women’s doubles team followed suit with a straight-sets victory over Myanmar.
The momentum continued in the men’s singles, where Uthen Kukheaw overpowered Ardika Yoga Putra of Indonesia 2–0 to secure another gold for the Kingdom.
Thailand’s superiority was further underlined in the doubles events. The men’s pair swept aside Indonesia 2–0, while the mixed doubles team rounded off the perfect campaign with a convincing 2–0 win over Myanmar.
Success across multiple sports
Elsewhere, medals continued to pour in from a variety of sports. Thailand edged Vietnam 3–2 in the Makruk mixed team standard chess final to secure another gold, while the jiu jitsu mixed team overwhelmed Vietnam 37–6 to add to a tally that now includes 14 golds across three disciplines.
In petanque, the hosts experienced mixed fortunes. The mixed triples team comprising one woman and two men edged Laos 13–10 to take gold, but the mixed triples team featuring one man and two women fell 13–2 in their final.
National women’s tennis team added a silver to the table after going down 2-1 to Indonesia in the final on Saturday.
Shuttlers going strong
Thailand’s badminton contingent remains firmly on course for more success. Defending women’s singles champion Supanida Katethong booked her place in the final with a composed 21–18, 21–16 victory over Indonesia’s top seed Putri Kusuma Wardani.
She will face either compatriot Ratchanok Intanon or Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in today’s gold-medal match.
The mixed doubles title is already assured for Thailand after both home pairs advanced to the final. Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran defeated Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah and Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu 21–17, 21–15, while Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat stunned Malaysia’s world champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 21–15, 21–16.
Golfers eye sweep
On the golf course, Thailand remain on track for a clean sweep after maintaining their lead in all four events at Siam Country Club Rolling Hills in ChonBuri.
Pongsapak Laopakdee fired a second successive 66 to reach 19-under 197 after three rounds, opening up an 11-shot advantage over the field. His form also helped the men’s team extend their lead to 27-under 621, 12 strokes ahead of Indonesia, with Vietnam third on 643.
In the women’s competition, Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul carded a 71 to lead on five-under 211, two shots clear of teammate Prim Prachnakorn, who returned a 70.
Thailand also dominated the women’s team standings, sitting at eight-under 424 - a commanding 19 strokes ahead of Singapore, with Indonesia third on 453.
Thailand’s baseball team continued their fairytale run, defeating Indonesia 2–0 (13–0, 8–3) to complete the preliminary round with a perfect record.
They will meet Indonesia again in today’s gold-medal match.
Pol Col Duangchote Suwannacharas, president of the Baseball Association of Thailand, expressed confidence that the team could deliver a historic triumph in the sport’s SEA Games debut. “The baseball team did amazing today,” he said. “Personally, I’m confident they can win a historic gold for Thailand.”
A splash in pool
Mia Millar delivered a landmark victory on Friday, becoming Thailand’s first SEA Games champion in the women’s 200m backstroke in 22 years.
The 18-year-old Thai-New Zealander set a new national record of 2:13.95, finishing ahead of the Philippines’ Xiandi Chua (2:15.73) and Indonesia’s Adelai Chantika Aulia (2:16.39).
Kamonchanok Kwanmuang added to Thailand’s medal tally with silver in the women’s 400m freestyle, clocking 4:13.56. The 20-year-old has now won three medals at these Games, including gold in the 200m butterfly and silver in the 200m individual medley. The men’s 4x100m medley relay team also secured silver.
Thailand’s cyclists enjoyed success as well, with Komet Sukpraset winning the BMX time trial in 34.526 seconds. Rising star Putthaphum Nakpaen completed a Thai one-two by taking silver in 35.568.
Lifting a weight
Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist Theerapong Silachai broke a wold recod and picked up a gold medal in weightlifting.
In the snatch, Theerapong completed lifts of 126 kg, 129 kg, and 131 kg. Indonesia’s Ricko Saputra also succeeded in all attempts, taking the lead with a final lift of 132 kg.
In the clean and jerk, Theerapong lifted 162 kg and 165 kg. Ricko Saputra did not complete his third attempt at 165 kg.
On his third attempt, Theerapong lifted 173 kg, breaking his own world record of 172 kg in the clean and jerk. His total of 304 kg secured Thailand’s first weightlifting gold medal at the Games.
Ricko Saputra of Indonesia won silver with a total of 295 kg, while Duong K of Vietnam earned bronze with 289 kg.
- Additional reporting by Ministry of Sports & Tourism Facebook.