Thailand's Paris Olympics campaign ended with one gold, three silver and two bronze medals as the national team finished in 44th place in the overall standings of the Games, which concluded on Sunday.
The six medals came from Panipak Wongpattakit (taekwondo, gold), Kunlavut Vitidsarn (badminton, silver), Theerapong Silachai (weightlifting, silver), Weeraphon Wichuma (weightlifting, silver), Surodchana Khambao (weightlifting, bronze) and Janjaem Suwannapheng (boxing, bronze).
It was an improved performance from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, where Thailand won only one gold and one bronze medal.
Taekwondo superstar Panipak retained her 49kg title, becoming the first Thai athlete to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Badminton silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn poses with his medal during the victory ceremony. (Reuters photo)
The 27-year-old, who confirmed her international retirement in Paris, also won bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Panipak admitted she felt the pressure coming into the Games but the defending champion left Paris as Thailand's most decorated Olympian ever with medals in three consecutive Games.
"I was under a lot of pressure coming here [Paris] as the defending champion. I didn't give any interviews as I kind of wanted to play down the expectations," said Panipak after the medal ceremony.
"But now that I have won the title, it's such a huge relief -- it's perfect."
Kunlavut also put his name in the history books for Thai badminton after winning the country's first-ever Olympic medal.
Silver medallist Theerapong Silachai of Thailand poses on the podium. (Photo: Reuters)
The reigning world champion claimed a silver medal when he reached the men's singles final where he lost to defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
On his way to the final, the 23-year-old brushed aside world No.1 Shi Yuqi of China and Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, respectively.
Meanwhile the national weightlifting team returned to the Olympic stage with a bang after missing Tokyo 2020 because of a doping scandal.
They produced three medals -- two silver and one bronze.
Theerapong and Weeraphon claimed silver medals in the men's 61kg and the men's 73kg divisions, respectively.
Surodchana won bronze in the women's 49kg event, with only Duangaksorn Chaidee missing out on a podium finish in the women's over 81kg event.
It was a sensational performance from all three young lifters on their Olympic debuts.
Theerapong and Weeraphon are both only 20 years old while Surodchana is just 24 and the future looks bright for the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (Tawa), who had been low-key about their medal prospects prior to the start of the tournament.
Janjaem won the country's only boxing medal just like her senior Sudaporn Seesondee, who claimed bronze in the women's 60kg class in Tokyo.
She lost to eventual champion Imane Khelif of Algeria in the women's 66kg division semi-finals.
Puripol impresses
Sprinter Puripol Boonson had an impressive Olympic debut as the 18-year-old qualified for the 100m semi-finals.
Puripol, who was the youngest runner in the field, clocked 10.14sec to finish 21st overall and failed to qualify for the final but vowed to come back in four years' time better and stronger.
"In four years, I will be stronger and will try to get a medal for Thailand," he said.
"All the athletes are very strong and so powerful, so I will have to work hard on building up my body."
The 12-year-old Vareeraya Sukasem was Thailand's youngest ever Olympian as she competed in the women's street event of the skateboarding competition in Paris.
Vareeraya, who was chosen as one of Thailand's flag bearers along with Puripol, finished 17th in the preliminary round and did not qualify for the final.
Weightlifting silver medallist Weeraphon Wichuma in action during the men's 73kg event. (Photo: Reuters)
However "ST" won over a lot of new admirers due to her brave performance in Paris and returned home to a warm welcome.
"Competing at the Olympics has always been my dream. I wanted to get a medal. But I will continue to improve, learning from all the great athletes, and practising new moves and tricks," she said.
Taekwondo athletes Banlung Tubtimdang and Sasikarn Tongchan did not make a podium in Paris but hopes are still high for both athletes, who are only 18 and 20, respectively.
Banlung lost to Javier Perez Polo of Spain in the round of 16 and the Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallist will now turn his focus to the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
Sasikarn, meanwhile, reached the women's 67kg quarter-finals before losing to Serbia's Aleksandra Perisic, who went on to win a silver medal.
Sasikarn was then beaten in the repechage round and just missed out on a chance to contest for a bronze medal.
Weightlifting bronze medallist Surodchana Khambao. (Photo: Reuters)
Shuttlers' decent run
Apart from Kunlavut's historic medal, other badminton players had a decent run in Paris.
Ratchanok Intanon again reached the women's singles quarter-finals before losing to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia while Supanida Katethong made it to the last 16 in her Olympic debut.
Mixed doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai and men's doubles players Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren also reached the last eight, achieving the goal set by Thai badminton chief Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul before the tournament.
Only women's doubles pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai failed to come through the group stage.
Apart from Janjaem's bronze medal in Paris, Bunjong Sinsiri and Chuthamat Raksat went furthest in the boxing tournament after reaching the men's 63.5kg and the women's 50kg quarter-finals.
Thitisan Panmot, Jutamas Jitpong and Baison Manikon bowed out in the round of 16 of the men's 51kg, the women's 54kg and the women's 75kg events, while Weerapon Jongjoho and Thananya Somnuek lost in the round of 32 of the men's 80kg and the women's 60kg divisions.
Golfers Atthaya Thitikul and Patty Tavatanakit failed to mount a serious challenge in Paris.
Atthaya, who moved into contention after the third round, finished tied-18th while Patty was tied-29th in the 60-player field at Le Grand National.
Boxing bronze medallist Janjaem Suwannapheng. (Photo: Reuters)
Chief satisfied
Thailand had 51 athletes -- one of its biggest Olympic contingents -- from 16 sports at Paris 2024.
Chief of the Thai delegation Thana Chaiprasit was satisfied with the overall performance of the Thai Olympians.
"We did better than Tokyo three years ago when we won one gold and one bronze medal," he said.
"But this time fellow Asean nations like the Philippines and Indonesia won two gold medals each and we need to have a discussion with the sport associations, the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Olympic Committee of Thailand on how to improve our preparation for the next Olympics.
"We will have to look into our weak points and plan our preparation better to have a bigger number of Olympic qualifiers in Los Angeles in 2028," he added.
"I was happy with our overall performance. Everyone gave his or her all and did the best they could.
"Some of the athletes are quite young such as Weeraphon Wichuma [weightlifting] and Vareeraya Sukasem [skateboarding] and their potential is limitless. If they can make good progess, winning more than one gold medal in the next Olympics is certainly possible."
