Air Force chief promotes Olympic taekwondo queen Panipak
Air Chief Marshal Airbull Suthiwan, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, presided over an official ceremony to present the rank of Pilot Officer to Olympic taekwondo champion Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit on Monday.
Panipak, from Surat Thani, grabbed Thailand’s only gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a last-gasp kick against Spain's Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the 49kg final.
The Air Force also arranged a flight to take coaches and athletes from Phuket back to Bangkok, since commercial airlines have stopped flying the route due to Covid restrictions.
Panipak was rewarded with the promotion after winning Thailand’s first-ever Olympic medal in the Korean martial art.
