Taekwondo fighter Panipak Wongpattanakit reached the peak of her career last year when she won an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games.
The Surat Thani native claimed the women’s 49kg title in thrilling fashion.
Hot favourite to go all the way at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Panipak found herself trailing Spanish teenager Adriana Cerezo Iglesias 10-9 in the final moments of the gold medal bout.
As the little-known opponent seemed to be heading for a shock victory, Panipak kept her cool and landed a kick with just five seconds left to seal a dramatic 11-10 win.
“It’s super dramatic,” exclaimed one Thai TV commentator into the mic at the time.
It was probably…
