PARIS — Winning an Olympic gold medal on your birthday is a rare event, which is why “Tennis” Panipak Wongpattanakit described it as the best gift of her life.
Panipak Wongpattanakit became the first Thai athlete to become a double Olympic champion in any sport on Wednesday. She defended her title from the games in Tokyo and secured Thailand’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Panipak, who turned 27 on 8 August, expressed her joy and pride: “I am very happy and proud to make history for Thailand. This medal is the reward for all my hard work and dedication. She was grateful to her coach Choi Young Seok, Pimol Srivikorn, also known as ‘Big A’, the President of the Thai Taekwondo Association, and all her coaches and her teammates who have supported me to this point.
“For me, this gold medal is the best birthday present of my life and I would like to dedicate it to all the Thai people who cheered me on. Despite the numerous injuries I have had to deal with, I am grateful for everyone’s support and compassion, and I want to give it back to everyone,” she added.
Panipak went on to explain the difference between her first gold medal at the Tokyo Games and this second medal. “Everyone tried to study me better this time because they know my strengths and techniques. The challenge was to analyze each competitor thoroughly, which made it a very challenging experience.
After grabbing a Thai flag and jumping into her coach’s arm, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner also spoke about the stress she was under.
“I was very stressed, but I had a psychologist who helped me and advised me to treat this as just another match like the Paris Open. I had already played all my opponents and knew their strengths and weaknesses, which helped me to relax and stay present in the moment. I restarted after every point because I knew everything could change and I had to give it my all.”
She trailed in the first round against Guo Qing of China but rallied with two consecutive kicks to the body and head. Guo fought back to force a decider, but Panipak prevailed after video reviews showed that she had successfully landed two spectacular head kicks.
“In the last 30 seconds, I felt like it was my last chance and as I had nothing to lose, I gave it my all. Like I said, if I was going to lose, I wanted to lose knowing that I had given my best. I kicked with all my might and asked Coach Choi for a video replay. Everything went as I had hoped and I enjoyed the game so that I could fulfill my potential,” she concluded.
Panipak is from Surat Thani. Her father is also very fond of sports and is a swimming instructor. Her mother is a swimmer and an aerobics dance instructor.
Her nickname “Tennis” comes from her parents’ love of sports. They decided to name all three of their children after different types of sports. The eldest son is named Baseball, the second daughter is named Bowling, and the youngest daughter is named Tennis.
Panipak started taekwondo at the age of 7 and initially trained like any other child until, at the age of 9, she decided to take part in a competition in Phuket because her father promised her a reward if she won a medal. However, she lost and was ridiculed by her classmates, which awakened her determination to take the sport seriously.
She continued to train diligently, facing defeat and disappointment, until she won a small competition at the age of 12. At 13, she won gold at the National Youth Games, which marked the beginning of her journey as a member of the Thai national team.
After joining the national team, Panipak achieved numerous successes, winning 27 championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. To the delight of the entire nation, she won Thailand’s first taekwondo gold medal at the 2020 Olympics and made history for Thai taekwondo by winning another gold medal.
“I have so much pain,” she said on the eve of her 27th birthday. “I had a broken knee. And my ankle, my hip… Now, I have to retire.”
Panipak announced that she wants to support young athletes after her retirement from the Olympic Games in Paris by founding the “Panipak Gym.” Then she jokingly advertised through the reporters, saying, ‘If anyone wants to learn (Taekwondo) with me, come to Thailand.’
This elicited laughter from the reporters in the press room.
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