Panipak "Tennis"Wongpattanakit (Thai:พาณิภัค วงศ์พัฒนกิจ;RTGS: Phaniphak Wongphatthanakit; born 8 August 1997) is a retired Thaitaekwondo athlete.[3] A two-time Olympic champion, she is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49 kg.[4]
Born inSurat Thani,southern Thailand, Panipak is the youngest of three siblings. She lost her mother at a young age. Her father, a civil servant and teacher who loved sports, nicknamed his children after sports: Bowling, Baseball, and Tennis, respectively. Both her elder sister (Bowling) and brother (Baseball) were former swimmers.
Panipak started practicing taekwondo because she wanted to go toPhuket with a friend who was competing there. Her father agreed on the condition that she also compete. Although she was already practicing taekwondo at the time, she hadn't taken it seriously. After losing every match, she decided to focus seriously on the sport and eventually became a professional taekwondo athlete.[5]
Panipak became a world champion at the2015 World Taekwondo Championships, claiming a gold medal in the 46 kg event which was her first world title. She claimed a bronze medal at the2016 Summer Olympics in the –49 kg class during her firstOlympic appearance for Thailand.[6] She nearly quit taekwondo out of frustration after the Olympics and took a brief break from the sport for about two months.[7]
Inthe 2024 Summer Olympics she won gold medal again inthe women's taekwondo 49kg category, becoming the first Thai athlete to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals and the first Thai three consecutive Olympic medalist.[17] Before the tournament, she announced that this would be her last match, as the training was too intense for her body.[18]
After the 2024 Summer Olympics, she revealed that she was dating fellow taekwondo practitionerRamnarong "Junior" Sawekwiharee but had to keep it a secret for 9 years because there was a rule that prohibited national athletes from being lovers.[19]
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Companion (Third Class) of The Most AdmirableOrder of the Direkgunabhorn[20]_ribbon.svg)
Companion (Fourth Class) of The Most NobleOrder of the Crown of Thailand[21]
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Gold medalists
Silver medalists
Bronze medalists
