Retracing the success of Thai tennis in the Asian Games

Paradorn Srichaphan
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When talking about Thai tennis in the Asian Games, I believe many people will think of the three best tennis players beloved by Thais, “Superball” Paradorn Srichaphan, “Pick” Danai Udomchoke and “Tammy” Tamarin Tanasugarn, who have already retired. But, in fact, Thai tennis has rarely washed away medals in the great sports event of Asia for two decades. This time, we will look back at the success and see which Thai tennis players have been successful in the “Asian Games.”

Although Thailand is not nearly as successful in the Olympics in tennis, they are much more capable of winning medals at other sports–such as badminton and boxing. Visit M88 to check the odds and place your bets now!

Men’s Singles

In this category, Thailand was blessed to have both “Superball” and “Pick” as their representatives, as both men have gone as far as winning the Kingdom two gold medals.

2002: Paradorn Srichaphan (Champion)

Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, “Superball” was seeded first in the tournament. Throughout, Paradorn showed excellent form and did not lose a set. Starting in the second round, he defeated Eduard Kaufman from Kyrgyzstan 6-0, 6-1, the third round defeated Sergei Makashin (Tajikistan) 6-0, 6-2.

In the quarterfinals he defeated Lu Yen-Hsun Lu, the seventh seed from Taiwan, 6-0, 6-4. In the semifinals, “Ball” continued his hot form, defeating Olek Ogorodov, the fourth seed from Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-3. In the final round, defeated Hyung-Taik Lee, the second seed from South Korea, 7-6(3), 6-4.

2006: Danai Udomchoke (Champion)

In Doha, Qatar, “Pick” was seeded thurd the tournament. In the second round he defeated Delchod Sharifi from Tajikistan 6-0, 6-0, in the third round beat unseeded Wayne Wong from Hong Kong 6-1, 6-1, and in the quarterfinals the Thai favorite continued his top form by beating Jun Woong Sun from South Korea 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3.

Danai’s opponent in the semifinals was No. 5 seed Go Soeda from Japan, and he had to fight for three sets before winning 6-0, 2-6, 6-2. In the final round he met Hyung-Taik Lee, the silver medalist from the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea, but it was not a difficult task for “Pick”–he won 7-5, 6-3 to beautifully win the gold medal.

Women’s Singles

1998: Tamarin Tanasukarn (Runner-up)

At the Asian Games in Bangkok, “Tammy” was the No. 1 seed in the tournament. She started in the second round by defeating her opponent from the Philippines, Maricris Fernandes, 6-3, 6-3. In the quarterfinals she defeated Yuka Yoshida, the No. 6 seed from Japan, 6-0, 6-4. In the semifinals she defeated Yi Jing Qian from China 7-6(4), 6-2. However, her ultimate dream of winning a gold medal ended after losing to No. 3 Yayuk Basuki from Indonesia 6-4, 6-2.

2002: Tamarin Tanasugarn (Runner-up)

In Busan, South Korea, this time “Tammy” was still the No. 1 seed in the tournament. She started beautifully by defeating Kunike Koychumanakova from Kyrgyzstan 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. In the quarterfinals she defeated No. 8 Jeon Mi-ra from South Korea 7-6(5), 6-4.

In the semifinals she defeated No. 7 Shinobu Asagoe from Japan 6-3, 6-2 but was heartbroken again in the final–where she lost to Iroda Tulyakanova from Uzbekistan in regrettable 6-1, 6-3 fashion.

Men’s Doubles

1998: Paradorn Srichaphan, Narathon Srichaphan (Champion)

The Asian Games hosted by Thailand, “Ball” paired up with “Big” Narathon Srichaphan, his older brother. In the final round they faced competitors from “Ginseng Land,” South Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee and Yoon Young-il. But in the end, the Thai pair did not disappoint, winning 6-3, 7-6(5)–successfully winning the men’s doubles gold medal.

2006: Sanchai Ratiwat, Sonchat Ratiwat (Runner-up)

The Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, “Ton-Tong” twins came to compete for the gold medal with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, a pair from India. Although the Thai national team twins won the first set, they couldn’t resist the strength, losing the last two sets en route to 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-3 setback–only able to win the silver medal.

2022: Pruchya Isaro, Maximus Jones (Bronze)

The two Thais went into the 2022 Games not as the favorites, but they reflected Thailand’s fighting spirit and fought their way to the semifinals. On the way, Isaro and Jones defeated players from Mongolia, Indonesia, and South Korea. They ended up losing to Chinese Teipei, having taken the first set before capitulating 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-2.

Women’s Doubles

2014: Laksika Khamkhum, Tamarin Tanasukarn (Champion)

In Incheon, South Korea, Laksika Khamkhum, paired with Tamarin Tanasukarn, met Hsieh Soo-wei and Chan Chin-wei from Taiwan. This pair fought evenly before “Luk” and “Tammy” came from behind to win 5-7, 6-3, 10-3, winning the gold medal for the Thai team.

Mixed Doubles

1978: Jaruk Hengrassamee, Suthasinee Sirikaya (Champion)

At the Asian Games in Bangkok, Jaruk Hengrassamee and Suthasinee Sirikaya defeated Etsuo Ishiyama and Matsuko Matsushima from Japan 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, making history by winning the first gold medal in tennis at the Asian Games for Thailand.

2018: Sonchat Ratiwat, Laksika Khamkhum (Runner-up)

Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, Sonchat Ratiwatana paired with Laksika Khamkhum against Indonesian opponents Christopher Rangkat and Aldila Sutjiadi. The result was that the Thai pair unfortunately lost 4-6, 7-5, 10-7.

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