Panipak Wongpattanakit during the women’s 49kg taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

 

Panipak Wongpattanakit has etched her name in history as the first Thai woman to win an Olympic gold medal with a kick. Crowned the Taekwondo champion after scoring a last-minute “golden strike” in the women’s 49kg competition on Saturday, this thin but powerful woman placed Thailand top of the world on Day 1 of the Tokyo Games.

 

Singing the national anthem on the podium, Panipak – in her own words – shed “tears of pride”.

 

Returning with Thailand’s first gold medal from the 2020 Olympics, she received a hero’s welcome at Phuket International Airport on Monday. Among the large crowd waiting was her father, Sirichai Wongpattanakit, the wind beneath her wings.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/kicking-back-with-panipak-thailands-olympic-taekwondo-queen/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-07-28

 

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15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

first Thai woman to win an Olympic gold medal with a kick.

I wish she would give a kick to Prajut .

and Anutin ...

Edited July 29, 20214 yr by nobodysfriend

Did herself and Thailand proud, unlike other people.