Singapore: Recovering from the debacles of Wednesday, Thailand claimed a respectable haul of nine gold medals at the 28th SEA Games on Thursday but it was not enough for them to regain the second overall spot.
The Thais bagged five gold medals in athletics, two in petanque, and one each in rowing and shooting.
Singapore remained in No.1 spot with 66, enjoying a nine-gold advantage over second-placed Vietnam.
After a slow start in athletics, Thailand's track and field stars produced five gold medals Thursay.
In the women's pole vault, Chayanisa Chomchuendee also successfully defended her crown after managing an impressive leap of 4.10m to beat Singapore's Isabel Rachel Yan (3.90m).
Jamras Rittidet won his fourth successive title in the men's 110m hurdles in 13.69sec which bettered his own Games record of 13.72sec.
"I was under pressure because I was three-time defending champion,'' said the 26-year-old Jamras.
"I was afraid that I might fail because I had a back injury. When I crossed the finish line, I was very happy."
Malaysian Sofian Wan was second in 13.97sec and Patrick Unso of the Philippines third in 14.12sec.
Wallapa Punsoongneun took the women's 100m hurdles in 13.56sec to beat Indonesia's Dedeh Erawati, who clocked 13.61sec.
Pooriphat Kaijun, Srikharin Wannasa, Saharat Sammayan and Kunanon Sukkaew won the men's 4x400m relay by beating the Philippines in a photo finish.
The Thais clocked 3:06.81min and the Philippines 3:06.84min.
In petanque, the pair of Phantipha Wongchuvej and Thongsri Thamakord defeated Vietnam 13-3 in the women's doubles final, while the duo of Thaloengkiat Phusa-at and Sarawut Sriboonpeng blanked Malaysia 13-0 in the men's doubles showdown.
In rowing, Ruthtanaphol Theppibal and Porntawat Inlee won the gold medal in the men's lightweight doubles (500m).
In shooting, Kanyakorn Hirunphoem, Naphaswan Yangpaiboon and Tanyaporn Prucksakorn scored 1,737 points to win the women's 25m pistol team title.
In cycling, Chanpeng Nontasin and Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn both finished second in the women's and men's time trial events, respectively.
Meanwhile, Olympic prospect Joseph Schooling completed a perfect haul of nine titles and all in SEA Games record time as Singapore put the seal on a golden pool performance Thursday.
Schooling gave himself a rousing send-off for next month's world championships as he led the hosts to a 4x100m medley relay win in 3min 38.25sec, three seconds inside the event record.
The 19-year-old has proved he can be a contender on the world stage, but he also shared the spotlight with Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who finished with eight golds.
Vietnam's "Iron Girl" won the 200m breaststroke and exited with her trademark smile after towering over the women's events at the Games.
Singapore's Quah Zheng Wen was largely outshone by the illustrious Schooling despite taking 50m backstroke and relay gold to finish with a commendable haul of seven titles.
The blistering relay win provided a fitting end to a swimming competition dominated by Singapore, who won 23 gold medals out of 38 on offer.
Kunanon Sukkaew crosses the finish line first in the men's 4x400m relay.
Wallapa Punsoongneun, right, on her way to taking the women's 100m hurdles crown.
Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn comes in second in the men's time trial.