The byes see the four boxers - Athens silver-medallist Worapoj, veteran Somjit, Athens bronze-medallist Suriya Prasarthinpimai and Suban Pannon - progress straight into the quarter-finals with the prospect of bronze medals.

In the last eight, light flyweight Suban, who has a record of underachieving at the Asiad, will meet North Korean Sok Ro; Worapoj fights low-ranking boxer Chon Sou Weng of Macau in the bantamweight division; flyweight Somjit, who claimed Thailand's solitary boxing gold medal in Busan, faces Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan; and Nakhon Ratchasima-based Suriya challenges Shukuralla Atajanov of Turkmenistan in the middleweight event.

The other four boxers who will have to negotiate the first round if they are to progress as far as their compatriots are Athens gold-medallist Manus Boonjumnong, wushu exponent-turned-boxer Angkarn Chompoopuan, Sairom Ardee and Pichai Saiyotha.

Manus has been handed what looks to be an easy-looking bout against unfancied Byamba Tuvshinbat of Mongolia in the light welterweight category; Angkarn faces Kim Jung-joo of South Korea; Sairom  takes on Hong Tin Pan of Macau in the featherweight division; and lightweight Pichai faces Vietnamese boxer Do Duc Thanh.

A day of mixed fortunes

nThe national women's volleyball team registered their second win yesterday powering past Mongolia in straight sets.

Spearheaded by the talented Malika Kanthong who scored 12 points, including 10 powerful spikes from 14 attempts, Thailand won 25-11 25-12 25-18 in 65 minutes.

In beach volleyball, Kamolthip Kulna and Jarunee Sannok got off to a good start with a 21-8 21-13 win over the Sri Lankan pair of Guwardana and Sujeewa.

Meanwhile, the Thai swimming camp had something to cheer yesterday when Jiratida Phinyosophon made the final of the 200m freestyle, qualifying with a time of 2min 05.46sec. However, she could not match the elite swimmers from China and Japan in the final, and finished a distant seventh with a time of 2:04.91. China took the gold and silver, and  Japan the bronze.

In the sepak takraw competition, Thailand thrashed South Korea 3-0 in the women's triple team (team A: 21-18 21-9; team B: 21-12 21-7; team C: 21-6 21-9).

Thailand's sharpshooters, however, failed to live up to expectations in the shooting competition yesterday. World record-holder Tavarit Majchacheep produced a poor display, scoring a combined 587 points to finish a distant 17th in the men's 10m air rifle qualification round, thereby missing the final.