The Thai women's national team defeated Hong Kong 10-0 to finish third in the first leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series at the Boonyachinda Stadium in Bangkok at the weekend.
The Thailand 7s, the first of three events in Asia's premier 7s championship, featured men's and women's teams from Japan, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, the UAE and the hosts.
In the women's third-place play-off match, the home team got off to a good start, thanks to a try by Uthumporn Liamrat for a 5-0 lead before Jirawan Chutrakun added Thailand's second try to extend the lead to 10-0.
Earlier in the semi-finals, China proved much too strong for the Thais.
The Kingdom drew first blood with a try by Rattanaporn Wittayaronnayut for a 5-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the hosts, that was their only score of the game as the Chinese hit back fiercely to secure a comfortable 33-5 win.
In the other semi-final, Hong Kong were beaten 14-7 by Asian Games champions Japan.
The Chinese women defeated Japan 21-17 in the final, while Hong Kong took the men's title with a 36-19 victory over Japan.
The Thai women's third-place finish is a confidence booster before the next tournament, the Korea 7s, from Nov 12-13.
Thai Rugby Union president Kulthon Prachuabmoh said: "We reached our target of finishing in the top three. It's a pity in the match against Japan, we had chances but could not grab them. I'd like to thank the players and coaches for their great efforts to achieve the goal.
"However, I believe that the players and coaches have learned a lesson and will try to fix all the mistakes ahead of the next leg in South Korea."
Thailand women's team coach Supparut Allapach said: "It's too bad that we didn't live up to expectation in the game against Japan. There is still room for us to improve. As for Jirawan, she did a pretty good job in a big tournament like this. However, she has to improve her kick."