Achieving this goal would secure Thailand first place overall at SEA Games 33, potentially breaking the record for gold medals won by one delegation in one Games.

The current record belongs to Vietnam, with 205 gold medals at the home SEA Games 31 in 2022. Thailand's best performance was 183 gold medals (2007), Indonesia – 194 (1997), Malaysia – 145 (2017), Singapore – 84 (2015), Philippines – 149 (2019), Myanmar – 84 (2013), Cambodia – 81 (2023), Laos – 33 (2009), Brunei – 4 (1999), and Timor Leste – 2 (2013).

Thailand wins gold in women's volleyball at SEA Games 32. Photo: The Nation Thailand.

Thailand has requested member federations to submit detailed gold medal targets. Rowing and canoeing aim for 18 gold medals, athletics (17), muay Thai, ju-jitsu (10), boxing (9), and weightlifting (6). Sepaktakraw and football aim for complete dominance, targeting 11 and 4 gold medals respectively.

Beyond Thailand, two other delegations have set specific medal targets for SEA Games 33: Vietnam aims for 90 to 110 gold medals, while Indonesia targets a minimum of 80 to 85 gold medals.

Malaysia has not finalized its target. Singapore has no overall target, though its swimming team aims to continue leading the Games with 20 gold medals. The Philippines seeks to surpass its previous 58 gold medals to rank in the top 5.

Front and back of the SEA Games 33 medal. Photo: SAT.

Regarding athlete numbers, Thailand leads with 1,531 participants, followed by the Philippines (1,168), Malaysia (1,166), Indonesia (996), Singapore (930), and Vietnam (841). Myanmar and Laos each have about 400 athletes, while Timor Leste and Brunei have fewer than 100. Cambodia, initially planning over 500, reduced its delegation to 100 due to security concerns amid border tensions with Thailand.

SEA Games 33 features 50 main sports competing for medals across 574 events. Additionally, four demonstration sports: air sports (paragliding), frisbee, tug-of-war, and mixed martial arts (MMA), will award 6 sets of medals.

The Games will commence on 3/12 with men's football and equestrian polo. The opening ceremony is on 9/12, and the closing ceremony is on 20/12. The two main host cities are Bangkok and Chonburi.

At SEA Games 32 in Cambodia, Vietnam topped the overall medal standings with 136 gold, 105 silver, and 114 bronze medals. Following were Thailand (108-96-108), Indonesia (87-80-109), Cambodia (81-74-127), Philippines (58-86-116), Singapore (51-43-64), Malaysia (34-45-96), Myanmar (21-25-68), Laos (6-22-60), Brunei (2-1-6), and Timor Leste (0-0-8).

Hieu Luong