Thailand are one of just three teams in either the men’s or women’s beach handball competitions who are returning to Youth Olympic Games action after appearing at the 2018 edition in Argentina.

Along with the Croatian women and Hungarian men, Thailand were present in Buenos Aires eight years ago as the sport made its Olympic Games debut.

At Sarmiento Park in Argentina’s capital city they impressed, finishing sixth after taking three 2-0 wins in the preliminary group against Venezuela, Uruguay and Chinese Taipei and going the distance against eventual gold medallists Spain in their opener (losing 10:8 via shoot-out) and then Hungary (9:6 via shoot-out).

The main round saw a huge, three-round shoot-out win against the hosts and bronze medallists Argentina (26:24), followed by a 2-0 loss against Portugal and 2-0 victory over Croatia which saw them face-off against Hungary for fifth spot, but they could not overturn their preliminary group defeat, losing 2-0 again.

Head coach of the team in Argentina was Surakhom KANNARONG, with one of his key players being his son, Open, who was instrumental in that Argentina victory at both ends of the court – as a scorer and goalkeeper.

In 2026, both Open and his father have been named on the squad list for Senegal, with the 26-year-old Open now assuming head coaching duties.

“Our clear objective for Dakar 2026 is to secure a podium finish and bring home a historic medal for Thailand,” said Open to IHF.info ahead of the event. “Our physical stature is not our primary advantage, so we have to play with courage and take risks. We do this by utilising a fast, versatile tactical approach in both attack and defence, forcing opponents to constantly adapt to our dynamic pace.

“Beach handball plays a vital role in our nation’s athletic ecosystem,” he added. “The sport serves as a platform to introduce and expand our handball community. At Buenos Aires 2018 our players and coaching staff performed remarkably well, narrowly missing out on a medal. This time, we return with renewed determination to build upon that foundation, address past details, and finish the job successfully – our ultimate expectation is to bring home a medal for Thailand.”

To qualify for Dakar 2026, Thailand finished sixth at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia and were the top-ranked continental side from Asia.

Their preliminary group stage campaign saw two 2-0 wins against Mexico and Dakar 2026 preliminary group opponents the Cook Islands, with a loss against another Senegal group opponent, Tunisia 0-2 (16:12, 12:20). A quirk of fate saw the Asian side play three South American teams in the main round and they duly prevailed against two of them, defeating Argentina and Uruguay via shoot-out, but losing 0-2 to Brazil.

This set-up a big quarter-final against eventual world champions Spain, which saw a one-sided first set give way to a tighter second, but, ultimately, a 0-2 (13:28, 18:21) loss. Oman were seen off in the 5-8 placement round 2-0 before a tough encounter in front of the live national TV cameras and vociferous home crowd when they played Tunisia once more, again losing 0-2 (16:18, 12:22) to end in sixth.

Due to age restrictions in place at Dakar 2026, just one squad player from Tunisia 2025 is able to make it Senegal, goalkeeper Thiwakon YAMPRAKON and he will be key in helping his team cope with the pressures and routines of a large, global event.

“We are honoured to be drawn alongside Germany, Tunisia, and the Cook Islands. Every team has earned its place at the Youth Olympic Games and we have great respect for all of our opponents. We believe this will be a highly-competitive group, and our young athletes are excited for the opportunity to challenge themselves against some of the world's best teams,” said Dr. Sombat KURUPHAN, President, Handball Association of Thailand to IHF.info.

“For Thailand, participating in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is a proud milestone and an important step in the development of beach handball. Our goal is to perform at our highest level, gain valuable international experience, and represent Thailand with pride, determination, and fair play. We hope our athletes will inspire the next generation of young players and continue contributing to the growth of beach handball in our country.”

Coach: Open KANNARONG
Key players: Thiwakon YAMPRAKON (Goalkeeper), Dennis PERMTHONG (Defender)
Qualification information: Tunisia 2025 – 6th, Highest-ranked Asian representative
History in tournament: 2018: 6th
Group at Dakar 2026: Group A – Tunisia (TUN), Thailand (THA), Germany (GER), Cook Islands (COK)