Olympic champ ‘Tennis’ among Thai taekwondo athletes downed by Covid
Olympic gold medallist Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit is among four national taekwondo athletes who have tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from the Spanish Open.
The victorious team were screened for Covid-19 in line with Public Health Ministry measures after landing back in Bangkok on Thursday. Four tests came back positive.
Panipak spearheaded the Thai challenge in the Spanish tournament from April 1-3, winning the gold in the 53kg category. Phannapha Hansujin won silver (57kg) and Sasikan Thongchan bagged a bronze (62kg).
The Taekwondo Association of Thailand said it coordinated with the athletes and arranged treatment immediately after receiving the news. It suspects they caught the virus while competing in Spain.
All four infected athletes are classified as “green” patients, having suffered only mild symptoms or none at all.
Panipak was treated for a cough, sore throat and fever at Samitivej Hospital on Sukhumvit Road. Meanwhile, the other three are isolating in a hostel as they have no symptoms.
Taekwondo Association chief Thanatit Raktabutr said it should only take the athletes about a week to recover and return to training. He insisted the infections would not derail the Thailand taekwondo team’s preparations for the SEA Games in Vietnam next month.
