The para fencing team clinched their third gold medal of the fifth Asian Para Games on the last day of competition as the Thai contingent ended their Aichi-Nagoya 2026 campaign with 19 gold, 40 silver and 66 bronze medals and were seventh in the overall medal standings.
Thai athletes were unable to meet their pre-tournament target of at least matching their 2022 Hangzhou Games tally when they won 27 gold, 26 silver and 55 bronze medals three years ago — the nation’s best-ever haul in the Asian Para Games — but remained the No.1 para team in Southeast Asia.
The sabre mixed team, featuring Saysunee Jana (women’s category B), Thitirat Pengprasittipong (A), Boonsiri Sanitmuanwai (men’s category A) and Chitiphat Charoenta (B), defeated South Korea 20-15 to secure the gold medal — Thailand’s 19th of the Games — at Nagoya City Inae Sports Center on Saturday.
For Saysunee it was her second gold medal of the tournament. The 52-year-old earned her breakthrough in Nagoya by winning the women’s sabre category B title on Friday.
Saysunee took home nine medals — two gold, three silver and four bronze — winning medals in every event she participated in at Nagoya.
The men’s and women’s sabre teams also added two bronze medals to the Thai tally on Saturday after they defeated Hong Kong 30-10 and Uzbekistan 30-12 in the bronze medal contests respectively.
There was another boccia silver from the mixed team BC1/BC2 event as Thailand’s Worawut Saengampa, Piyarat Chanyadi and Phakphun Linchum lost to Indonesia 11-3 in the gold medal match on Saturday.
Pornchok Larpyen and Nuanchan Phonsila then took a bronze medal in the mixed pairs BC4 event as they defeated Malaysia 4-2.
The para athletics team were the most successful team in Aichi-Nagoya as they won six gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals; the para fencing team took three gold, five silver and 10 bronze medals, while the boccia team produced four gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
Naiyanobh Bhirombhakdi, president of the Paralympic Committee of Thailand, commended the team’s performance in Japan, highlighting the success of rising stars as a positive indicator as they look ahead to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I am proud of the performance of our athletes, coaches, and the entire support team for their total dedication. The progress shown by our athletes — reflected in improved competitive statistics — is particularly noteworthy. The emergence of several rising stars who delivered outstanding performances is a very positive sign for the continued development of Thailand’s para athletes,” he said.
Among the standout rising talents are swimmer Nithikorn Jeampiriyakul, who won two gold medals, two silver and one bronze in his Asian Para Games debut, and the 20-year-old wheelchair racer Fasai Yapakham, who earned two silver medals after training for less than six months.
China were crowned the overall medal champions again, topping the podium with 207 gold, 117 silver and 111 bronze medals for a total of 435 medals. Hosts Japan were in second place with 64-60-62, Uzbekistan finished third with 45-49-51, India fourth with 30-35-49 and South Korea rounded out the top five with 29-38-33.
The 2030 Asian Para Games will take place in Doha, Qatar.