Taekwondo teens add to Thailand’s medal tally
TWO THAI teenagers walked away with Olympic medals yesterday in the taekwondo event in Rio.
Tawin Hanprab’s silver saw him become the country’s youngest male athlete – at 18 years and 32 days – to win a medal at the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.
His silver came after Panipak Wongpattanakit, 19, snatched a bronze medal in the 49kg class, continuing the string of wins notched up by Thailand in the women’s events in each of the Games since Yaowapa Boorapolchai finished third at the Athens Games in 2004.
While Panipak, who won the world championship title last year, failed to live up to expectations, Tawin’s silver came as something of a surprise.
Tawin, who is ranked 15th in the men’s 58kg class, came within a whisker of delivering the country’s first Olympic gold in the Korean martial art. The title showdown against China’s Zhao Shuai went down to the wire, as the Thai found himself only 6-4 behind in the dying seconds.
Just one more kick could have helped the teenager achieve the gold in a campaign that began with a bang with an upset win over two-time world champion Kim Tae Hun in the preliminary round. Unfortunately, it was not to be as the Chinese athlete hung on to secure a narrow win.
‘Pleased with silver’
Despite having to settle for the runner-up spot, Tawin, who is from Pathum Thani, was more than pleased with his maiden Olympic campaign.
“I never thought I would come this far. All my opponents have a better pedigree. I think the success was down to the fact that I fought without pressure. I was just “nobody” at the start of the competition so they might overlook me.
“My rivals at the Games were so tough, starting with the Korean, the 2014 Asian Games gold medallist. Beating him was already a great achievement for me. I then took on Safwan Khalil of Australia, who once beat me, but I managed to turn the tables this time and the win made me more confident.
“I told myself to do my duty as best as I could. In the final against Zhao Shuai, I tried to stick to what the coach told me to do. It’s a pity [that I lost]. Anyway, I’ve already come far for such a big tournament as the Olympics,” said the Chulalongkorn University student, who revealed he would continue pursuing his dream of more Olympic glory.
“I made some mistakes, especially in defence. When I tried earn points with a kick, I usually left myself exposed to my rival. I need to make sure that I’m guarded when defending myself.”
