PANIPAK Wongpattanakit made history at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, becoming the first person from Thailand to win two gold medals when she defended her Tokyo title in the taekwondo women’s flyweight division against China’s Guo Qing.
Panipak won 6-3 2-3 6-2, clinching the victory with two kicks to the head, which yielded three points each.
The final match was the most difficult she fought on the day, having sailed through all the earlier bouts with two-round wins.
At a press conference immediately after the medals ceremony, a beaming Panipak confirmed reports that she would now retire.
“I am very excited… to make this victory for Thailand,“ Panipak said, adding that a series of injuries affecting her knee, ankle and hip had led to her decision to retire.
“I have a gym in Thailand,“ she told a reporter, adding to laughter: “If you want to learn with me, come to Thailand.”
Panipak had already risen to fame in her home country by getting Thailand’s first gold medal in taekwondo in Tokyo. With 1.6 million followers on TikTok, Panipak is known for the way she kicks by raising her leg from the back to strike the trunk protector.
Panipak, who turns 27 on Thursday, has had the same coach, Chatchai Choi, for the past 13 years. He was instrumental in persuading her not to quit the sport after she was disappointed at winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Croatia’s Lena Stojkovic and Iran’s Mobina Nematzadeh won the bronze medals.
