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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 month's 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 said.

"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.

Athens gold medallist Manus Boonjumnong reportedly squandered an estimated $600,000 (£300,000) worth of bonuses on alcohol and gambling after the 2004 Games but has since turned to the monkhood and spent time in Cuba to wean himself off his playoy lifestyle.

Taweep last year moved the team's training base to the north-eastern Thai province of Nakhon Ratchasima but his fighters soon discovered the location of the local nightlife.

"There was too much going on there so we moved them to Vietnam," Taweep said. "They have some good sparring partners and there is nothing for them to do."

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.

There will be eight Thai boxers in Beijing and Taweep is tipping seven of them to win medals, with light-welterweight Manus the leading gold prospect.

Reuters