Kanjutha wins Thailand's fourth Asian Games gold on Sept 22

Kanjutha Phattaraboonsorn won Thailand’s fourth gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday (September 22), defeating Bahrain’s Diana Pogosyan 3-0 in the women’s modern mixed martial arts 54-kilogram final.

The victory also gave Thailand its first Asian Games gold medal in mixed martial arts (MMA), which is making its debut at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya

Kanjutha dictated much of the final against Pogosyan, combining punches and kicks in the standing exchanges with disciplined defence to disrupt the Bahraini fighter’s rhythm.

The judges awarded the Thai fighter a unanimous 3-0 victory, securing the women’s modern 54kg title and Thailand’s fourth gold medal of the Games.

Pogosyan had reached the final after defeating South Korea’s Lee Bo-mi 3-0 in their semi-final. Lee was forced out of the contest after suffering a shoulder injury.

Kanjutha reached the gold-medal bout after beating Indonesia’s Vallensia Fahira Hotmauli 3-0 in the semi-final on September 21. Her Indonesian opponent received bronze because the MMA competition does not stage a separate bronze-medal contest.

Kanjutha’s triumph marked the first Asian Games gold medal for Thai MMA and a milestone for the Thai Mixed Martial Arts Association.

The achievement carries added significance because MMA is appearing at the Asian Games for the first time in Aichi-Nagoya, with six gold medals being contested across modern and traditional categories.

Kanjutha had already made history before the Games by becoming Thailand’s first MMA athlete to secure an Asian Games quota place. She qualified through the Asian MMA competition in China earlier in 2026.

Kanjutha’s gold lifted Thailand’s tally to four gold medals and one silver as of 1pm Thailand time on September 22, according to the medal-table update in the source.

Thailand remained fifth, level with fourth-placed Kazakhstan on four golds and one silver but behind on bronze medals.

The standings in the source at 1pm were:

Thailand had entered September 22 with three gold medals and one silver and was already fifth in the standings. The country’s first three gold medals were all won in teqball.