Three more golds help Thailand surpass target - Bangkok Post

Sophia Gale Montgomery secured the women’s dinghy (ILCA6) sailing gold on Friday. (Photo supplied) Thailand’s women made a splash on the water and a statement on the sand and in the boxing ring at the Asian Games, as a three-gold haul on Friday took the Kingdom to 15 golds in Aichi-Nagoya, one better than its target of 14.

After Sophia Gale Montgomery had secured the women’s dinghy (ILCA6) sailing gold, Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee saw off China in three sets to win beach volleyball gold, Thailand’s first in the discipline for 28 years.

Boxer Natnicha Chongprongklang then added gold in the women’s 54kg event to complete the treble.

Sophia was at her best as she finished with the lowest net score in the fleet.

The 23-year-old arrived at the final day as leader after nine qualifying races, having dropped her worst result to leave a net tally of 21 points, the lowest in the field.

She added just five points across on Friday’s two concluding races to finish on 26, enough to secure the gold medal. Singapore’s representative took silver and India’s bronze.

Thailand’s Taravadee, known as Bright, and Worapeerachayakorn, nicknamed Bass, beat the second-seeded Chinese pair in three sets to win women’s beach volleyball gold, the country’s first in the discipline for 28 years.

The fourth-seeded Thais, who defeated Xia Xinyi and Yan Xu, this year’s Asian championship runners-up, 21-17, 13-21, 15-8 in the final, took the opening set with varied attacking play and strong blocking.

The Chinese pair responded with resilient defence and sharp counter-attacks to level the match at one set apiece.

The decider turned in Thailand’s favour as the Chinese pair were forced to take a lengthy injury break. On their return, they could not halt theThais, who closed out the set and the match.

It is only the second Asian Games gold in the history of Thai women’s beach volleyball. The first came at the 1998 Games in Bangkok, won by Manatsanan Pangka and Rattanaporn Arlaisuk.

Natnicha beat North Korea’s Pang Chol Mi 4-1 in the final of the women’s 54kg event to claim Thailand’s only boxing victory at Nishio Gymnasium on Friday.

The 22-year-old Thai-New Zealander, a gold medallist at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, the 2026 Eindhoven Cup and the 2025 U22 Asian Boxing Championships, found herself in an enthralling, back-and-forth contest with the formidable Pang, a decade her senior.

The pair traded blows through the opening three rounds before Natnicha secured the verdict, earning the Thai contingent’s 15th gold of the Games.

In taekwondo, Patcharakan Poolkerd took bronze in the women’s 49kg, having lost her semi-final to China’s Ma Jingyue 2-0 (9-1, 9-4).

Two other Thai fighters, Sasikarn Tongchan (women’s 67kg) and Sirawit Mahamad (men’s 58kg), failed to reach the medal rounds.

Sasikarn also represented Thailand in the mixed individual virtual taekwondo, which made its debut as a medal sport at the Asian Games. She lost 2-0 to Vietnam’s Ngoc Tuyet Sang Chau in the quarter-finals.

Jiu-jitsu fighter Nuchanat Singchalad picked up another bronze for the Thai team as she defeated Mongoljin Ganbaatar of Mongolia in the women’s 52kg bronze medal contest at Nishio Gymnasium.

Nuchanat lost to another Mongolian fighter, Tsagaanbileg Altangerel, in the quarter-finals before winning the repechage round against Tajikistan’s Fariza Qosimboeva to earn a spot in the bronze medal match.

It was the team’s second medal in Nagoya following Miyu Suzuki’s bronze on Thursday.

Thailand’s women will play for sepak takraw gold after sweeping aside Indonesia in the semi-finals of the quadrant event at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

The Thai quartet of Manlika Boonthod, Wiphada Chitphuan, Ratchaneekorn Saeheng and Somruedee Pruepruk were in commanding form. They took the opening set 15-9 and then raced through the second 15-4 to secure their place in the final.

Awaiting the Thais in the final are old rivals Vietnam, who ended the challenge of hosts Japan with a pair of comfortable set wins, 15-8 and 15-10, in the other semi-final.

The long-standing rivalry between the two nations adds extra edge to the showdown, which is scheduled for 7am Thai time.

Golfer Sadom Kaewkanjana moved to within four strokes of the lead after the third round of the men’s individual competition on Friday.

The Thai ace shot a seven-under 63 to finish the round on eight-under 202, four behind the Korean leader Kim Joo-Hyung, who carded a 65.

Thailand also climbed to fifth place in the men’s team event, eight shots behind the leading Koreans.

In the women’s individual event, defending champion Arpichaya Yubol is tied for sixth on three-under 207, 12 shots behind the frontrunner, Pranavi Urs Sharath of India. Thailand are sixth in the women’s team event on four under, 11 shots off the lead.

Meanwhile, the men’s volleyball team beat Qatar 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21) in the fifth-to-eighth classification match. They will face India on Saturday in the battle for fifth place.