It was an eventful year that saw Thai athletes produce a lot of memorable and forgettable moments.
At the Asian Games in Indonesia, Thailand aimed to win 17 gold medals but could only bring home 11.
The country claimed four gold medals in sepak takraw, two in taekwondo, two in paragliding, and one each in jet skiing, shooting and and cycling.
However, only three were successful in Olympic sports -- taekwondo fighter Panipak Wongpattanakit, cyclist Jai Angsuthasawit and skeet shooter Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit.
Thailand enjoyed their best ever Youth Olympic campaign winning five gold medals in Buenos Aires.
The Thai champions are boxers Atichai Phoemsap and Panpatchara Somnuek, taekwondo exponent Kanthida Saengsin, weightlifter Supatchanin Khamhaeng and golfers Atthaya Thitikul and Vanchai Luangnitikul in the mixed team event.
Golfer Ariya Jutanugarn secured three LPGA Tour titles and regained the No.1 ranking.
Her sister Moriya finally won her first LPGA crown while Thidapa Suwannapura became the country's third LPGA champion.
On the men's side, Kiradech Aphibarnrat became the first Thai golfer to earn a PGA Tour card.
In football, AFF Suzuki Cup defending champions Thailand were embarrassingly eliminated in the semi-finals in front of their own fans when they could only draw 2-2 with Malaysia after a scoreless draw in the first leg in Kuala Lumpur.
In one of the biggest losses of the year, Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was killed, along with four other people, when his helicopter crashed near the club's King Power Stadium after a Premier League match in October.
Here are our picks for Thailand's top 10 athletes and groups of the year (in alphabetical order):
Ariya Jutanugarn
Ariya is not only Thailand's best athlete of the year but also a contender for the top female athlete in the world of 2018.
The top-ranked golf star, who turned 23 last month, won three tournaments, including the US Women's Open for her second major crown.
She became the first player to sweep all LPGA major awards of the season -- the LPGA player of the year, Race to the CME Globe that comes with a US$1 million bonus, money title, Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, Annika Major Award for the best performer in the five major championships and Leaders Top 10 Award for the most top-10 finishes.
"It has been unbelievable," the Bangkok native said after the season-ending Tour Championship.
"I didn't expect to win anything like this. Feel great today. I'm really proud of myself."
Atthaya Thitikul
The Ratchaburi-born teenager is arguably the best female amateur golfer in the world at the moment.
Amateur golfer Atthaya Thitikul.
She played a key role in her and partner Vanchai Luangnitikul's win in the mixed team event at the Youth Olympics in Argentina.
The duo, who were overnight leaders, finished one shot ahead of Americans Lucy Li and Akshay Bhatia.
It was Atthaya, 15, who guided the Thai team to the gold medal.
The US pair were on fire in the last round and took the lead after 15 holes but Atthaya made two birdies in the final two holes to seal the win.
"Jeen [Atthaya's nickname] is the hero,'' said Vanchai.
Atthaya said: "I am very happy. It's an honour to win gold for our country."
Earlier this year, she won the inaugural Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific in Singapore.
With the win, she earned berths at the ANA Inspiration and the British Women's Open, and she took the low amateur honours at the two major championships.
Chanathip Songkrasin
The Consadole Sapporo midfielder was picked as one of the best 11 players of the season in the Japanese league.
The 25-year-old Thailand international became the first player from Southeast Asia to receive the accolade.
He initially joined Sapporo on loan from Thai League 1 club SCG Muang Thong United last year.
After an impressive spell, the Japanese side bought him.
"It was a superb season. Thank you," Chanathip, who scored eight goals this season, said in Japanese after receiving the award.
Sapporo finished fourth in the J-League for the club's best ever position.
The diminutive playmaker, dubbed 'Messi Jay' by the Thai press, was also named the best men's player of the year by the Football Association of Thailand.
Jai Angsuthasawit
Relatively unknown in Thailand, the 23-year-old made history by becoming the Kingdom's first ever Asian Games gold medallist in track cycling after powering his way to the front in a photo-finish in the keirin event.
The Australian-Thai shed tears as he wrapped the national flag around his shoulders after the success in Indonesia.
While few Thais knew him before the Asian Games, Jai is no stranger to winning on the big stage as he previously competed in track cycling for Australia, including at the 2013 World Championships in Glasgow where he won gold in the junior team sprint.
He chose to start representing Thailand last year.
Japan's Nitta Yudai took the silver, crossing the finish line only 0.003 seconds slower than Jai.
"I just went into it as strong as I could and I came out lucky," Jai said afterwards.
"I was confident to get a medal but not gold. Halfway through the race I had energy in my legs and I went for it."
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
The burly golfer is looking forward to a memorable debut season as a PGA Tour member after making history by becoming the first Thai golfer to earn playing rights on the world's leading professional golf circuit.
Golfer Kiradech Aphibarnrat holds his PGA Tour card.
The 29-year-old earned his PGA Tour card for the 2018-2019 season, thanks to a pair of top-five finishes at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
He also finished tied 13th at the Memorial, joint 30th at the Players Championship and 15th at the US Open.
The 29-year-old also won the World Super 6 Perth, sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian Tour.
"I have gained a lot of experience by competing around the world and I feel really comfortable now playing alongside the world's best players. I look forward to playing my best golf on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour. It is a dream come true for me and I hope I can make my country proud with my achievements," said Kiradech.
MotoGP organisers
Thailand held its first ever MotoGP race in Buri Ram in October.
Marc Marquez, No.93, on his way to winning the Thailand MotoGP. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasil)
The Thailand Grand Prix, won by Honda's Marc Marquez, attracted about 220,000 people over three days -- the biggest crowd of the season.
It was voted the best MotoGP of the year by the International Road-Racing Teams Association (IRTA).
IRTA president Herve Poncharal said: "We can be assured it was the best GP of the season due to many different aspects. Everything went smoothly and the commitment of the organisers was fantastic.
"From my point of view it will be hard for them to improve!"
Under the contract signed last year, Thailand will host MotoGP for two more years.
Panipak Wongpattanakit
Panipak is arguably the best female taekwondo fighter in the 49kg division and seen as a gold medal favourite at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Nicknamed 'Tennis', the Surat Thani star comfortably won gold at the 2018 Asian Games after outclassing Uzbekistan's Madinabonu Mannopova 21-3 in the final, just a few days after she celebrated her 21st birthday in August.
One of the favourites at the 2014 Asian Games, Panipak could only get a bronze in Incheon, South Korea.
"When I returned home, I cried. I was disappointed and sad,'' Panipak said after her success at the 2018 Asiad.
"The gold medal is a [belated] birthday present for myself. It's worth my four-year wait."
She was named as the best female amateur athlete of the year by the Sports Authority of Thailand on National Sports Day on Dec 16.
She did not attend the award ceremony because she was competing at the Wuxi World Taekwondo Grand Slam Series.
Fittingly, Panipak claimed the 49kg title and about two million baht in prize money.
"I am very happy to win the gold medal as a present of the Thai people,'' she said.
In all, she won six titles this year.
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
The WBC super-flyweight champion made two successful title defences this year.
Boxer Srisaket Sor Rungvisai during his fight against Iran Diaz at Muang Thong Thani. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)
Known in Thailand as Srisaket Nakornloung Promotion, the champion defeated Mexico's Juan Francisco Estrada by a majority decision in California in February and outpointed Iran Diaz, also of Mexico, in Bangkok in October.
The win over Diaz was probably his best wedding present.
Earlier this year, his longtime live-in girlfriend Patchareewan Kanha announced her split with the 31-year-old champion, whose real name is Wisaksil Wangek.
He soon dated Pornpimol Sarakaew and they tied the knot in her home province of Chumphon last month.
Uber Cup team
Thailand dethroned champions China 3-2 to reach their first ever Uber Cup final at Bangkok's Muang Thong Thai.
Thai badminton stars celebrate after reaching the Uber Cup final.
Busanan Ongbamrungphan won the deciding fifth match, defeating 2012 Olympic champion Li Xuerui.
"Finally we did it, I never expected that today would really come," said Busanan.
It was Thailand's best ever performance in the Uber Cup although they lost to Japan in the final.
The other Thai players included Ratchanok Intanon, Nitchaon Jindapol and doubles specialist Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.
Women's football team
While the Thai men's football team have never played at the World Cup, their women's compatriots will play in their second consecutive World Cup next year.
The Thai women's sealed their spot at the 2019 Women's World Cup after reaching the semi-finals at the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Jordan.
They eventually finished fourth in the Amman tournament after losing to China in the third-place play-off.
It will be their second finals appearance after their first four years ago when they lost to giants Germany and Norway and beat fellow World Cup debutants Ivory Coast.
The Chaba Kaew will again be in a tough group at France 2019 when they were drawn to meet defending champions the USA, Sweden and Chile.
But Thailand coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian sees this as a good opportunity for her players.
"I am not worried," said Nuengrutai, who also coached Thailand's 2015 World Cup team. "Playing against such strong teams can help us move to another level."