Panipak with her gold medal. Photo: PR Dept

 

PHUKET: Phuket welcomed Olympic gold medal star Panipak Wongpattanakit today (July 26) as the Taekwondo star returned home from the Tokyo 2020 Games a national hero.

 

The 23-year-old Surat Thani native, nicknamed “Tennis”, became an Olympic champion in dramatic fashion on Saturday (July 24) courtesy of a last-gasp kick in the women’s 49kg Taekwondo final against Spanish teenager Adriana Cerezo Iglesias.

 

In what was a nail-biting conclusion to the contest, Panipak was trailing 10-9 with only five seconds remaining. It was then that she unleashed her final successful kick that brought her a dramatic 11-10 victory.

 

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-welcomes-home-olympic-gold-medal-hero-80826.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-07-26

 

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Good for her. But the photos of her groveling at the feet of some official and him wearing her gold medal was nauseating to me.

17 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

Good for her. But the photos of her groveling at the feet of some official and him wearing her gold medal was nauseating to me.

That "some official" was her father.

I would say there was no grovelling going on and if her father wearing her gold medal was nauseating to you, it wouldn't be if you didn't assume it was "some official".

 

She has made Thailand proud as well as her father.

4 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

That "some official" was her father.

I would say there was no grovelling going on and if her father wearing her gold medal was nauseating to you, it wouldn't be if you didn't assume it was "some official".

 

She has made Thailand proud as well as her father.

 I apologise. It was not clear it was her father  

Great stuff, good girl...????????

I am so happy for her, beautiful girl. 

She worked hard, trained hard and fought hard... she got her reward.

A life long memory.

Here's the final seconds of her fight.  Down 9-11 she rallies for a 11-10 win.

Crucial Win by Panipak Wongpattanakit ???????? THA to Win Gold Medal ???? in Womens Taekwondo 49kg - YouTube

Congrats to her but are there more countries where they call a gold medal winner a hero ?

What flight did she take to fly into Phuket?  Is she going to quarantine?  Is she going to follow the Phuket Sandbox Protocol?

On 7/26/2021 at 7:17 AM, snoop1130 said:

It was then that she unleashed her final successful kick

I would hardly describe it as "unleashing".  It was a mild front turning kick at best with little power.  But the way they structure the scoring in this pad wearing version of Tae Kwon Do, it counts.

1 hour ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Congrats to her but are there more countries where they call a gold medal winner a hero ?

Yeah, pretty much 90% of the Olympic participating countries, at least, if not 99%. Maybe you could take the liberty to list the countries that do not consider the gold medal winning figure as their heroes. It would be far easier to list all those heartless and emotionless countries. There are very few of them.

6 minutes ago, ChC1 said:

. Maybe you could take the liberty to list the countries that do not consider the gold medal winning figure as their heroes. It would be far easier to list all those heartless and emotionless countries. There are very few of them.

Yeah, pretty much 90% of the Olympic participating countries, at least, if not 99%

 

Where you read this, for sure not in my part of the world.

5 minutes ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Yeah, pretty much 90% of the Olympic participating countries, at least, if not 99%

 

Where you read this, for sure not in my part of the world.

You mean not in the little circle you live in?

2 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

What flight did she take to fly into Phuket?  Is she going to quarantine?  Is she going to follow the Phuket Sandbox Protocol?

SQ

Yes

Yes

 

2 hours ago, ozfarang said:

SQ

Yes

Yes

 

I did see a video on the internet and you will see her surrounded and in a crowd of people at the airport.  That is not a good way to start a sandbox!

7 hours ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Congrats to her but are there more countries where they call a gold medal winner a hero ?

I don't know about anywhere else but they're certainly referred to as heroes in the UK. Here's just one example, from The Times.

 

What did Britain’s Olympic gold medal heroes do next?

 

My impression is, as @ChC1 says, that the majority of countries refer to Olympic gold medalists this way.

9 hours ago, ChC1 said:

You mean not in the little circle you live in?

Yes, my worldwide circle.

4 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

I don't know about anywhere else but they're certainly referred to as heroes in the UK. Here's just one example, from The Times.

 

What did Britain’s Olympic gold medal heroes do next?

 

My impression is, as @ChC1 says, that the majority of countries refer to Olympic gold medalists this way.

In my point of view a hero is someone who saves another life with danger for his own. I have respect for those persons winning medals and the effort they put in for this but don't forget they are all sponsored and are making a living with it.

1 hour ago, Albert Zweistein said:

In my point of view a hero is someone who saves another life with danger for his own. I have respect for those persons winning medals and the effort they put in for this but don't forget they are all sponsored and are making a living with it.

Oxford explanations of hero:

a person who is admired by many people for doing something brave or good

• a war hero (= somebody who was very brave during a war)
• a hero of the First World War
• one of the country’s national heroes
• His charity work has made him something of a local hero.
• The Olympic team were given a hero's welcome on their return home.
• Scientists like her are typically unsung heroes (= people who are not praised or famous but deserve to be).
• He was hailed as a hero after the rescue.

hero noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

 

A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

 

HERO English Definition and Meaning | Lexico.com

 

You don't need to save a life to be a hero. You can be a hero simply stand up to bullies. You can be a hero doing works that nobody wants to do for years. You can be a hero helping vulnerable. You can also be a hero going to soup kitchen helping less well off weekly.

 

I am glad I don't live in your universe circle that courage, hard working, fighting for your nation's glory in world stage is not appreciated by heartless creatures like you.

1 hour ago, Albert Zweistein said:

I have respect for those persons winning medals and the effort they put in for this but don't forget they are all sponsored and are making a living with it.

 

Thai medallist will receive 12 million bahts.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Albert Zweistein said:

 but don't forget they are all sponsored and are making a living with it.

That comment is definitely wrong, not all olympic athletes are making a living from their sport or sponsored

8 hours ago, ChC1 said:

Oxford explanations of hero:

a person who is admired by many people for doing something brave or good

• a war hero (= somebody who was very brave during a war)
• a hero of the First World War
• one of the country’s national heroes
• His charity work has made him something of a local hero.
• The Olympic team were given a hero's welcome on their return home.
• Scientists like her are typically unsung heroes (= people who are not praised or famous but deserve to be).
• He was hailed as a hero after the rescue.

hero noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

 

A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

 

HERO English Definition and Meaning | Lexico.com

 

You don't need to save a life to be a hero. You can be a hero simply stand up to bullies. You can be a hero doing works that nobody wants to do for years. You can be a hero helping vulnerable. You can also be a hero going to soup kitchen helping less well off weekly.

 

I am glad I don't live in your universe circle that courage, hard

working, fighting for your nation's glory.

A ridiculous statement, they are making money that way. Are sponsored, participate in commercials and getting a regular salary paid by the national sports associations. Many of them got very rich after their career, certainly not all of them but they all are dreaming of it.

Once again, I have respect for them but I don't consider them as hero's.

As for the Oxford explanation I agree to war heroes but I don't see any category for Boris.

9 hours ago, Espanol said:

 

Thai medallist will receive 12 million bahts.

 

 

 

So it's not about money ? Anyway I am happy for them and hope they will invest it in a way they can make a living with that money.

Don't forget it's slightly more than the poor street vendor received who got shot by a drunken RTP and remains handicapped for life. 400,000 if I remember well.