Thailand tops medal table with 19 golds in early SEA Games surge

Thailand launched its bid to reclaim the elusive SEA Games overall title in emphatic fashion by bagging a commendable haul of 19 gold medals as of press time in the 33rd SEA Games on Wednesday.

Since the inauguration of the region’s most prestigious sporting event back in 1959, the Kingdom has finished atop of the medal standings 13 times, the most among all 11 ASEAN countries.

However, the last time the Thais put their hands on the top honour was a decade ago in Singapore, leaving them strongly determined to salvage their pride by regaining the overall title in the ongoing Games running until December 20 in Bangkok and Chon Buri.

Teenage exponent Watcharakul Limjittrakorn set the ball rolling by snatching the country’s first gold in the women’s individual freestyle poomsae event of the Games’ taekwondo competition.

Cyclists Methasit Boonsane and Vipavee Deekaballes quickly followed suit by grabbing a golden brace in the men’s and women’s mountain bike downhill events, with the former’s triumph ensuring he won at least a gold in each of his three Games appearances so far.

“I’m so glad to win the gold medal on home soil. I would like to dedicate this gold to all Thai people. After this, I’ll try to do as best as possible in the remaining events to win as many medals as possible,” said Methasit.

Thai female shuttlers, led by evergreen Ratchanok Intanon, clinched the SEA Games women’s badminton team gold medal for the seventh consecutive time following their 3-1 victory over Indonesia in a gripping final on Wednesday.

In ju-jitsu competition, Thai pair of Kunsatri Kumsroi and Suphawadee Kaeosrasaen, with seven world titles under their belts, lived up to their top billing by claiming the gold in the women’s duo show division with 50.5 points.

Thai siblings, Kanyarat Phaophan and Panyaporn Phaophan, (48.5) had to settle for a silver, while a bronze went to Laotian pair (41.0).

The home exponents were equally impressive in the ju-jitsu fighting competition by sewing up three out of four gold medals up for grabs.

Nuchanat Singchalad set the tone by overcoming Vietnam’s Phung Mui Nhinh 12-7 in the women’s 52kg final.

In the all-Thai gold medal fight in the women’s 63kg class, Orapa Senatham clinched the title without breaking a sweat after Suchanard Leakkhew was forced to withdraw due to injury picked up in the semifinals.

Suwijak Kuntong then outclassed compatriot Naphat Mathupan 50-0 in another all-Thai final in the men’s 62kg division.

Chanwit Aunjai agonisingly fell short of completing a clean sweep for the hosts, going down 16-9 to Tan Jedd Shi Jie of Singapore in the men’s 77kg event.

Meanwhile Thailand secured a historic gold medal in equestrian polo at the 2025 SEA Games with a decisive win in the 2–4 goal final.

The team, led by brothers Aiyawatt and Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha alongside Nattapong Pratumlee and Thanasin Chuawangkham, delivered an outstanding performance, defeating Brunei 8.5 to 0.

This victory marks Thailand’s first SEA Games gold medal in equestrian polo.

For swimming also, Thailand wins first swimming gold at SEA Games 2025 in Women’s 200m Butterfly.

Kamonchanok Kwanmuang delivered an impressive performance, surpassing former champion Quah Jing Wen of Singapore and strong contender Vo Thi My Tien of Vietnam in a close finish. She secured Thailand’s first swimming gold with a time of 2:11.78.

At the RTAF Hockey Stadium, the national women’s hockey team notched up a milestone achievement by thrashing Malaysia 7-1 to clinch a first gold medal in three decades in the women’s hockey 5s competition.

Chaiyapak Siriwat, the deputy president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand and the president of the Thailand Hockey Association, was understandably delighted with the Thai women’s historic success.

“We’ve waited for this (achievement) for a long, long while. It’s such a long wait since we last beat Malaysia. The last time we won in the SEA Games was back in 1995 in Chiang Mai.

“It took a while for us to build a team capable of creating this historic win. It’s also the first gold from team sports for the country at this Games,” said Chaiyapak.

The Thai team also reinforced its status as dominant forces in sepak takraw competition by sweeping a pair of golds in the men’s and women’s hoop events, with both sides beating their opponents by comfortable margins.

However, the hosts were dislodged in the chinlone competition by Myanmar, who surprisingly secured the golds in the men’s and women’s events, relegating the Thais to the runners-up spot in both categories.

Thailand’s rowing team delivered the goods as well by sealing triple gold from Piyanath Koetsuk in men’s kayak single slalom event, Atcharaporn Duanglawa in the women’s canoe single slalom class and Pitpiboon Mahawattanangkul in the men’s canoe single 500m division.

Thailand's Lalita Chiaochan wins first pétanque gold in women's shooting on opening day of the SEA Games 2025

Meanwhile, 17-time champions Thailand opened their campaign in the women’s indoor volleyball competition by blanking Singapore 3-0 (25-17, 25-13 and 25-11).

As of press time, Thailand went top of the medal table with 19 golds, 13 silvers and 10 bronzes, with Indonesia trailing far behind on three golds in the second. Singapore found themselves in third spot due to inferior number of silver medals to the Indonesians.