Khwansuda wins bronze in Taekwondo at the Paralympics
Para-taekwondo athlete Khwansuda Phuangkitcha brings home the first medal for Thailand from the Paris Paralympics
Khwansuda Phuangkitcha won the first bronze medal for the Thai team in the 47 kg women’s taekwondo event (K44 category - Impaired in one arm from the wrist up) at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris on Thursday.
Khwansuda, a dedicated para-taekwondo athlete and employee of Nation Group, fought fiercely to secure her victory against her Iranian opponent. After tying 4-4, she won the bronze medal on superior points, marking Thailand's first medal in the 17th Paralympic Games in Paris.
In the previous rounds, Khwansuda defeated Turkey’s Ekinci Nurcihan 8-4 in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals where she narrowly lost to Uzbekistan’s Ziyodakhon Isakova 3-5, leaving her to compete for the bronze.
Khwansuda faced Maryam Abdollahpour of Iran in a closely contested match. Both athletes sought to gain an edge, with Khwansuda losing a point in 18 seconds, only for her opponent to suffer the same fate.
After a 4-4 tie in regulation time and no score in the golden round, the match was decided on points. Khwansuda emerged victorious due to her superior spinning kick technique, earning her the bronze medal.
This marks her second Paralympic bronze, following her achievement in Japan four years ago.
After the match, Khwansuda tearfully expressed her regret for not winning the gold, but said she is determined to aim for gold in four years at the Paralympics in the United States.
In the men's 58 kg category, Thai athlete Thunwa Kaenkham competed in the bronze medal match against Azerbaijan's world No. 3, Zeynalov Sabir.
Earlier, Thunwa advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Argentina's Miguel Isaac Galeano 12-10, but lost to Israel's Asaf Yasur 6-23 in the quarterfinals. In the repechage, he beat France's Bopha Kong 21-3, earning a spot in the bronze medal match.
In the bronze medal match, Zeynalov's precision proved too much for Thunwa, who lost 4-12.
Despite missing out on a medal, Thunwa expressed pride in competing in his first Paralympic Games and said he is committed to improving every day.
