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If you check the Asian Games medal table on your phone between meetings, you’re not the only one. Japan is just two hours ahead of Bangkok, so most finals from Nagoya air at a sensible time back home, and Thai fans have plenty to cheer about. With the Games in their final stretch, the national team is doing far better than most of us expected.
The latest standings, updated on October 1, put Thailand fifth with 12 golds, 10 silvers and 12 bronzes, 34 medals in total. The only nations above are China (150 golds), Japan (50), South Korea (24) and Uzbekistan (16), which is serious sporting company.
Still, the tally only tells part of the story. Behind those numbers are long droughts ending, records falling and a brand-new sport Thailand already rules. Here are the results worth knowing about.
Teqball
The sport makes its Asian Games debut in Nagoya and Thailand wastes no time, taking top spot in three of the five events. Pakphoom Detcharoen and Suphawadi Wongkhamchan win the mixed doubles, Suphawadi returns with Jutatip Kuntatong to claim the women’s title and Sorrasak Thaosiri and Jirati Chanliang finish the job on the men’s side. All three finals, against Japan, Myanmar and Lebanon, end 2-0, which means Suphawadi now has two golds to her name.
Sepak takraw
Few sports matter more in Thailand, and the men’s team regu final delivers the fixture everyone hoped for, with old rivals Malaysia on the other side of the net. The women get their chance too, as the four-player event begins with the group stage on September 30 and the medal match follows on October 3.
Athletics
Twenty-year-old Puripol ‘Bew’ Boonson takes the men’s 200m in 19.88 seconds, breaking the Asian Games record and ending a 52-year wait for Thai gold in the event. He already holds the 100m title, so that’s a sprint double. Joshua Robert Atkinson, meanwhile, becomes the first Thai athlete to win the men’s 400m, stopping the clock at 44.90.
Badminton
Kunlavut ‘View’ Vitidsarn gives Thailand its maiden men’s singles gold, and he does it against a proper opponent. Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew is a former world champion, just like Kunlavut, but the Thai controls the final throughout and closes it out 21-12, 21-16. It’s a fine addition to a CV that already includes Olympic silver from Paris 2024.
Equestrian eventing
Eventing combines dressage, cross-country and showjumping, and the lowest penalty score wins. Sitting third before the cross-country, Korntawat Samran, Supap Khaw-Ngam, Woraphat Sittiju and Weerapat Pitakanonda ride faultless rounds and climb to team gold on 109.90 penalties. Thailand hasn’t topped this podium since Bangkok hosted the Games in 1998. Woraphat, on his first call-up to the national squad, keeps his nerve for individual silver as well.
Table tennis
Suthasini ‘Ying’ Sawettabut and Orawan Paranang pick up bronze in the women’s doubles. China’s world number two duo knocks them out in the semi-final, but the Thais still earn a medal the country has chased in this event since table tennis joined the Asian Games in 1958.
Women’s water polo
The women’s team beats Singapore 12-9 in a high-scoring match to secure bronze, giving Thailand its breakthrough medal in an event that has been on the programme since 2010.
Esports
In PUBG Mobile, teams score for where they finish and how many opponents they eliminate, so steady results count as much as outright wins. Nattawut Muensa, Sathit Thanormchit, Phumrapee Wannaletsakul, Supachai Singkaew and Pawarit Wongthonghatchai come first in just three of their 12 matches, yet their 128 points are enough for Thailand’s opening esports gold of these Games.
Mixed martial arts
Bahrain’s Diana Pogosyan is one of the most dangerous fighters in the women’s 54kg division, but Kanjutha Phattaraboonsorn presses forward from the start, never gives her room to settle and wins decisively to become champion.
Men’s kabaddi
In kabaddi, a lone raider crosses to the opposing half, tags as many defenders as possible and tries to get back before being tackled. India, the tournament favourites, end Thailand’s run in the last four, but after a string of tough, physical matches the men still collect bronze, a first Asian Games medal for the squad.
Karate
Thailand has two karate medals so far. Maneewan Butsuwan gets things going with silver in the women’s 68kg category, and Teerawat ‘Max’ Kangtong follows with bronze in the men’s +84kg, beating his Indonesian opponent with quick, clean strikes.
Rowing
Parisa Chaempudsa, a bronze medallist at the last Games in Hangzhou, is back among the medals in the women’s lightweight single sculls. Over 2,000m on the Nagaragawa course in neighbouring Gifu prefecture, she holds her own against a strong field and crosses the line third in 7min 40.61sec.
Canoe slalom
Paddlers race down a whitewater course through a series of hanging gates, some of which have to be tackled upstream, and every gate they touch adds a two-second penalty. Atcharaporn Duanglawa keeps her boat under tight control despite the pressure and clocks 125.85 seconds in the final of the women’s individual event, good enough for silver.
A few days of competition remain, so keep that tab open. Wherever Thailand ends up in the final standings, these athletes have already given the whole country good reason to be proud.
The Asian Games run in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, until Sun Oct 4. For full results and the latest medal table, head to the official website.