PHUKET - Thailand moved closer to their target of winning 40 gold medals at the fourth Asian Beach Games on Thursday.
Thailand's Kwanrutai Pakdee, right, defeats compatriot Tassaporn Wannakit to win the women's 60m gold medal. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
The hosts won four more titles and remained overall leaders with 34 golds with three days to go in the 12-day tournament.
On the final day of sailing, Thailand won three gold medals from Kamonchanok Klahan (girls' optimist), Suthorn Yamninid (boys' optimist) and brothers Kitsada and Damrongsak Vongtim (hobie 16 open).
China reigned supreme in sailing and windsurfing winning five of nine gold medals while Thailand got three and the Philippines one.
Damrongsak said that he was happy to win gold and beat the opponents who defeated his team at this year's Asian Games.
However, he said he may switch to another discipline as hobie 16 is not a sport at the SEA Games and Olympics.
On the final day of petanque, Thailand got their fifth gold with their triumph in the women's triple team.
In all, Thailand won five golds in petanque, Vietnam two, and Laos and Singapore one each.
In beach athletics, Kwanrutai Pakdee won the women's 60m title ahead of runner-up Tassaporn Wannakit and Kazakhstan's Viktoriya Zyabkina.
Indonesia's Iswandi got the men's 60m gold while Eddin Ghazal of Syria triumphed in the men's high jump.
Meanwhile, defending overall champions China made a big move yesterday with nine gold medals and are now second behind Thailand with 14 golds.
China took home four golds in water skiing while Japan, Singapore and Lebanon got one each.
In beach volleyball, Thailand qualified for the last-16 round in both men's and women's events.
In beach handball, the Thai women's team beat Vietnam 2-0 in the semi-finals to face Taiwan in the final tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Gen Yutthasak Sasiprabha, president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, said the kingdom had a high chance of winning the bid to host the inaugural World Beach Games in 2017.
"We have experience in organising international events including the Asian Games and Asian Beach Games," he said.