Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand celebrates after defeating Guo Qing of China during the women’s taekwondo 49 kg final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicini)
Thai taekwondo ace Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit celebrated her 27th birthday on Thursday by winning a historic second gold medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Paris Olympics.
Panipak is the first Thai to win a second Olympic gold medal, following his bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Panipak made history by winning Thailand’s first ever taekwondo gold medal.
Panipak comes from a family of sportspeople. His father, Sirichai, is a former footballer and swimmer, and his mother, Wangtana, is also a former swimmer. His siblings are also named after sports. His sister, Kolawika, is named for “bowling,” and his brother, Sarawin, is named for “baseball.”
Read: Wongpattanakit wins Thailand’s first gold medal at Paris Olympics
When Panipak first came into the limelight, many were confused about her sport and wondered if she was a taekwondo athlete or a tennis player, as she was nicknamed “Tennis.”
Wongpattanakit began learning taekwondo at the age of nine. Her first coach was Songsak Thipunan of Tapi Taekwondo Gym in Surat Thani province. She joined the National Youth Taekwondo Team at the age of 13 after winning a gold medal in the under-42kg category at the 27th National Youth Games held in Uttaradit in 2011.
She was tall and well-built, so she was selected by Korean taekwondo coach Choi Young-seok to join the Thai national team. She was inspired to become a taekwondo athlete by her older brother. She looked up to taekwondo athletes Yaowapa Buraporchai and Chanathip Songkham as role models in her training.
Wongpattanakit had an outstanding career as a youth athlete, winning numerous international championships including the US Open, Korea Open and Asian Championships. At just 16 years old, she won a silver medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
Thailand’s Panipak Wongpattanakit celebrates on the podium after winning gold in the women’s 49 kg taekwondo event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicini)
Her notable achievements at the youth level include a silver medal in the under-47kg category at the 2013 Asian Youth Games and a gold medal in the under-44kg category at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
At the 2016 Olympics, Panipak faced South Korea’s Kim So-hee in the quarterfinals of the under-49 kg division. She was leading 4-2 with four seconds left in the final round, but was kicked in the head and lost 6-5. However, with Kim advancing to the final, Panipak got another chance to compete in the repechage, where she defeated Julissa Diez (Peru) and Itzel Manjares (Mexico) to win the bronze medal.
Read: Thailand’s flyweight queen Wongpattanakit wins Olympic taekwondo gold medal
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Panipak made history in Thai taekwondo when she defeated Spain’s Adriana Cerezo Iglesias 11-10 to win Thailand’s first ever gold medal in taekwondo.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he defeated China’s Qin Guo 2–1 in the final to win his second consecutive Olympic gold medal, becoming Thailand’s most successful Olympian of all time.
These achievements are the result of more than two decades of tireless training to become the best in the world, but the intense training has transformed the shape of her legs.
Her deformed feet are the result of the rigorous training she underwent from a young age. She dedicated her childhood to overcoming all her limitations, practicing six to seven hours a day, and even longer before competitions.
No matter how much pain she experienced while competing, training or dealing with personal issues, she had to endure it because taking a break would give her opponents an opening to catch up.
“I never thought I was better than anyone else. World rankings don’t mean anything. Everyone has an equal chance of winning or losing. But when you reach this level, there’s no doubt that everyone is targeting you and trying to beat you,” she said.
“What I can do is persevere more than other players. Perseverance here means enduring the fatigue from competing, training or personal issues that creep up from time to time. Even if I want to take a break, I can’t because it would give competitors an opening,” Tennys said.
Before her triumphant trip to Paris, she announced that she would retire from sport after the 2024 Olympics.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
The subscription was successfully completed.
Alongside her rigorous training, Wongpattanakit also completed a master’s degree in political science at Thonburi University in Bangkok.
Check out Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
