Thai boxers exiled to avoid nightlife lure

Thailand has sent its ill-disciplined Olympic boxers into exile to prevent them from going off the rails in the run-up to next month's Beijing Games.

Three months ago, the Kingdom's wayward fighters were dispatched to rural Vietnam to avoid the distractions of Thai nightlife, according to the country's boxing chief Taweep Jantararoj.

Taweep said he was concerned his fighters would be hassled by family and the media, and lured into Bangkok's myriad of clubs and bars because of their celebrity status.

"I'm keeping them in Vietnam right up until the Games because I worry about what they will do at home," Taweep told Reuters.

"They need to know they are not yet the best in the world and have to work hard for their medals."

Thailand's previous medal-winning fighters, many of whom are former kickboxers from poor backgrounds, have achieved instant fame and earned reputations for their exuberant party lifestyles.

Somluck Kamsing, who became the country's first ever Olympic champion in 1996, blew his chances of repeating the feat in Sydney by skipping training to work on his acting and singing career.

Boxing is Thailand's strongest sport at the Olympics, with its pugilists responsible for 11 of the Kingdom's 17 medals to date, three of which were gold.