A golden birthday for taekwondo legend Panipak in Paris

Thailand’s taekwondo ace  Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit celebrated her 27th birthday on Thursday, winning a historic second gold medal at the Olympics in the women’s 49kg category in Paris. 

Panipak became the first Thai to become a two-time Olympic gold medallist, to add to the bronze medal she won at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Panipak made history by winning Thailand’s first-ever gold medal in taekwondo.

Panipak hails from a sporting family. Her father, Sirichai, was a former footballer and swimmer, while her mother, Wantana, also was a former swimmer. Her siblings are also named after sports: her sister is “Bowling” Korawika and her brother is “Baseball” Sarawin.

Because she was called “Tennis”,  many people were confused about Panipak’s sport when she first came into the limelight, wondering if she was a taekwondo fighter or a tennis player.

Panipak started learning taekwondo at the age of 9. Her first coach was Songsak Thipnang at the Tapi Taekwondo Gym in Surat Thani province. She joined the national youth taekwondo team in 2011 at the age of 13 after winning a gold medal in the under-42kg category at the 27th National Youth Games in Uttaradit.

As she was tall and well-built, South Korean taekwondo coach Choi Young Seok selected her for the Thai national team. She was inspired by her brother to become a taekwondo fighter. She admired taekwondo fighters Yaowapa Burapolchai and Chanatip Sonkham as role models in her training.

As a youth athlete, Panipak achieved outstanding results, winning numerous international championships, including the US Open, Korea Open, and Asian championships. At the 2013 SEA Games in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, she won a silver medal when she was just 16.

Her notable achievements at the youth level include a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Youth Games in the under-47kg category and a gold medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, in the under-44kg category.

In the 2016 Olympics, Panipak faced Kim So Hui from South Korea in the quarter-finals of the under-49kg. She led 4-2 with only 4 seconds left in the final round but was kicked in the head and lost 6-5. However, she got another chance when Kim reached the finals, allowing her to compete in the repechage round, where she defeated Julissa Diez (Peru) and Itzel Manjarrez (Mexico) to win the bronze medal.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan, Panipak made history for Thai taekwondo by winning the gold medal, defeating Adriana Cerezo Iglesias from Spain 11-10 in a thrilling final, securing the first-ever gold medal for Thailand in taekwondo.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she defeated Qing Guo from China 2-1 in the final to win her second consecutive Olympic gold, making her the most successful Thai Olympian ever.

These achievements stem from her tireless training for over 20 years to become the world’s best, although the intense training altered the shape of her feet.

Her misshapen feet resulted from the rigorous training she underwent from a very young age. She dedicated her childhood to overcoming every limitation, practising six to seven hours a day, and even longer before competitions.

No matter how much pain she experienced during competitions, 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 considered myself better than anyone else. World rankings have no meaning; everyone has an equal chance of winning and losing. But when we reach this level, it's certain that everyone is targeting you and wants to defeat you," she said.

"What I can do is endure more than others. Endurance here means enduring the fatigue from competitions, training, or personal problems that sometimes creep in. Even if we want to take a break, I can't because resting at any time means leaving an opening for our competitors," Tennis said.

Before her triumphant journey to Paris, She announced that she would retire from sports after the 2024 Olympics.

Side by side with her gruelling training, Panipak also graduated with a master’s degree in political science from Bangkok Thonburi University.