May Ratchanok caused a stir on social media after posting a photo of her 2025 SEA Games gold medal, which showed paint peeling despite the competition ending less than a month ago.
On 3 January 2026, “May” Ratchanok Intanon, a Thai national women’s badminton player who won two gold medals at the 2025 SEA Games hosted by Thailand late last year, posted a photo of her gold medal on social media.
The photo posted by May clearly shows that the gold paint on the medal had started peeling in some areas, even though the 2025 SEA Games had concluded only a few weeks earlier, causing surprise among many people.
The badminton star shared the photo on her personal Facebook page with a humorous caption saying,
“Oh nooo!! Don’t tell me the inside is chocolate, like when we were kids.”
The post quickly went viral, attracting many comments from sports fans and badminton followers, most of which were friendly teasing such as “Not even a month yet,” “How did the medal peel so fast?” and some jokingly questioned the quality of the regional sports event’s medals.
Regarding May Ratchanok’s performance at the 2025 SEA Games, she secured two gold medals in the women’s singles and women’s team events, marking another significant achievement in her professional career and a perfect farewell to her final SEA Games.