Thais fare poorly as curtain comes down on Games

Hosts Malaysia emerged as the overall champions with 145 gold medals while reigning champions Thailand could produce only 72 golds. The Kingdom hit their low point in the 1999 edition in Brunei where they managed only 65 gold medals.
Thailand fared miserably in many sports where they were once the dominant force. While they took a step backward, the neighbouring countries stepped up to the task, raised the bar higher and surging ahead of Thailand.
The Thai athletics team, for instance, earned just 9 gold medals, seven of them in field disciplines. Thailand used to dominate the track events but this year only the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay team could win gold medals. The Thai athletic association targeted 14 golds, the same number as in the previous Games, but their campaign floundered.
The country’s women track stars won nothing while Vietnamese women scooped nine of the 17 gold medals their country’s athletic team garnered in the Games.
Swimming was the other sport where Thailand’s downturn was palpable. Nuttapong Ketin and Phiangkwan Pawapotako won the men’s 200m breaststroke and women’s 200m breaststroke while others fell by the wayside. Thailand used to be the powerhouse in swimming but these days it is a completely different story.
In boxing, Thailand were expecting three gold medals but returned home with only two through favourites Chatchai Butdee in bantamweight and Wuttichai Masuk in light welterweight. The country’s chances of winning more medals were dimmed when Malaysia announced that it was hosting only six events.
Malaysia excluded several disciplines in which Thai athletes were strong, severely affecting the Kingdom’s medal tally. Women’s weightlifting, for instance, is a traditional strength for Thailand but was not included.
However, Thailand were impressive in Olympic sports. The final win over Malaysia in men’s football, the 16th gold medal for Thailand, once again underlined their supremacy in the Asean.

The women's badminton team

Three golds in golf, one in women’s volleyball, a historic four in badminton (the most from a Thai badminton team in the Games history), five in taekwondo, four in tennis and one in women’s water polo indicated that the country still maintained their leadership in Summer Olympic sports. The badminton team, especially, deserves accolades for performing beyond the expectations by winning in women’s team, doubles, mixed doubles and men’s doubles.
In terms of the organisation, Malaysia did a pretty good job except for online results, especially the official website, which was notably below standard. There was no live scoring system and the medals tally was often slow and incorrect. In this digital era, live scoring, fast and correct results are crucial for efficient media coverage. Next host the Philippines has its homework cut out to prevent such a fiasco.

Thailand’s last two gold medals came from Ponrchai Lapsri in the men’s weightlifting under-85kg and Triphop Thongngam in the men’s speed skating 1,000m.