Viewers were left confused on Friday night when the Thai flag was raised during a medal ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics, even though no Thai athlete had won a medal.
The mix-up occurred during the medal presentation for the men’s 92-kilogramme (heavyweight) boxing category, in which Lazizbek Mullojonov of Uzbekistan took gold, Loren Alfonso of Azerbaijan won silver and Davlat Boltaev of Tajikistan won bronze alongside Enmanuel Reyes of Spain. Two bronze medals are awarded in Olympic boxing.
As the athletes stood on the podium to receive their medals, the Thai flag was displayed in place of the Tajikistani flag, leaving competitors and the audience visibly perplexed. Boltaev appeared particularly bewildered, as his flag was not raised.
Despite the mix-up, all four boxers carried on with the ceremony and posed happily for a commemorative photograph. As of now, no official statement regarding the incident has been issued by the organisers.
Speculation about how the error occurred focused on the staff handling the ceremony. A Reddit user noted that the country codes of Thailand (TH) and Tajikistan (TJ) are close. The letters “H and J are beside each other on a keyboard, so it could’ve been a human error.”
Thai flag, left, and Tajikistani flag.
