Chatchai Butdee: World Medalist and Three-Time Olympian
Thai boxer Chatchai Butdee competed at three consecutive Olympic Games: London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Also known as Chatchai-Decha Butdee, he represented Thailand across three weight categories and reached the featherweight quarterfinals in his final Olympic appearance.
Three Games in three divisions
Born on March 26, 1985, in Ta Phraya, Butdee developed a long international amateur career. His first Olympic appearance came at London 2012 in the flyweight division, where he finished equal ninth. Four years later, he returned at Rio as a bantamweight and again finished equal ninth.
Tokyo brought another change of division. Competing at featherweight, he progressed to the last eight and finished equal fifth. The sequence demonstrates both his longevity on Thailand’s team and the changes in weight class across his Olympic career.
The Tokyo quarterfinal run
At the Tokyo Games, Butdee defeated Argentina’s Mirco Jehiel Cuello by a 4–1 decision in the second round of the 57-kilogram competition. That victory moved him within one win of a medal and set up a quarterfinal against Cuba’s Lázaro Álvarez.
His campaign ended at that stage, leaving him outside the medal positions. The quarterfinal result should therefore be distinguished from the world championship bronze he won in 2013. Butdee’s record includes that major international medal alongside three Olympic appearances, rather than an Olympic podium finish.
For readers following Thailand’s amateur boxing history, his career offers a clear example of sustained participation at the highest level. London, Rio and Tokyo mark separate chapters, with Tokyo producing his best Olympic placing.
Olympedia records all three Olympic appearances and his 2020 result. Sources: Tokyo second-round report; [1] [2]
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
