Thai Olympic champion brings gold medal to offer at mother's grave

Panipak Wongpattanakit is the only gold medalist for Thailand at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The gold medal that Panipak Wongpattanakit won was in the women's 49kg weight class, in taekwondo.

Panipak won the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal just over 2 weeks ago (Photo: Reuters).

She is also the first athlete in Southeast Asian sports history to successfully defend her gold medal at an Olympic Games (before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Panipak Wongpattanakit won a gold medal in the women's 49kg weight class in taekwondo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics).

Yesterday (August 24), Panipak Wongpattanakit was in her hometown of Surat Thani, went to her mother's grave, placed the Olympic gold medal she had just won in France, and reported her achievements to her mother.

Panipak brings Olympic gold medal to his mother's grave (Photo: Siam Sport).

Panipak lost his mother at the age of 7, 20 years have passed (Photo: Siam Sport).

The 27-year-old girl said at her mother's grave: "I thank you, Mom, for always being my motivation and inspiration. I hope you will accept this medal so that I can express my heart to you."

Panipak Wongpattanakit's mother passed away exactly 20 years ago, in 2004, when she was only 7 years old. For the past 20 years, Panipak Wongpattanakit has lived with her father.

Panipak with her father (2nd from right), she is known as a filial daughter (Photo: Siam Sport).

The "golden boxer" of Thai sports is famous for being very filial. After each glory she won in the international arena, she often placed the medals she won around her father's neck, then returned to her hometown to report her achievements at her mother's grave.

After the 2024 Paris Olympics, Panipak Wongpattanakit announced her retirement and moved on to other work. In addition to being a talented athlete, Panipak Wongpattanakit has a master's degree in science, majoring in political theory. In addition, she also has a system of taekwondo training rooms under her own brand.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/nha-vo-dich-olympic-thai-lan-mang-hcv-den-dang-ben-mo-me-20240825134713996.htm