Thailand went undefeated to win the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III Group A tournament in Bishkek, with hosts Kyrgyzstan taking silver and Luxembourg taking bronze.
This was Thailand's fourth appearance at the World Championships after finishing on the podium last year. Thailand maintained its top spot in the standings throughout the tournament, but the battle for silver and bronze was slightly closer.
In the tournament opener against Kyrgyzstan, Thailand won 9-4 despite losing 55-22. Thailand scored three goals on six shots in the second, leading 4-3 heading into the final period. Kyrgyzstan tied the score on a power play, but Thailand capitalized on back-to-back penalties and fought back with five scoreless goals.
Benjamin David Kleineschey, who was ultimately named the tournament's best goaltender, led Thailand to a 5-0 shutout victory over Mexico. Nicolas Charles Lampson and Jan Mikael Isaksson, who finished first and third in the tournament's scoring rankings (Lampson with nine goals and 10 assists, and Isaksson with 10 goals and eight assists), each scored two goals. Thailand had a similar performance against South Africa, winning 5-1.
They defeated Turkmenistan 13-3, even though a big penalty to Lampson gave Turkmenistan an early 2-0 lead. Thailand's reaction was quick, scoring three goals within three minutes, and exploded further in the second period to score six goals. Lampson and Isakson both had hat tricks.
Thailand achieved their best result in an international tournament with a 6-1 victory over Luxembourg. Ken Edvin Kindborn scored 13 of Thailand's 38 goals and was crowned top defender with a +19 performance.
