Thai taekwondo star Panipak claims 50th career title at World Grand Prix Championship
Taekwondo star Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit on Tuesday (October 10) defeated her arch-rival from China in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Taiyuan, China, to win her 50th title.
In the final round of the women’s under-49kg, Panipak overpowered China’s Qing Guo, her long-time rival, 3-0 and 8-3.
The 26-year-old native of Surat Thani province, had recently beaten Guo 2-1 in the final of the Hangzhou Asiad to defend her Asian Games title.
Before entering the final at Taiyuan 2023, Panipak had beaten Kazakhstan’s Rita Bakisheva 8-1 and 10-0, then Ela Aydin from Germany 9-0 and 6-2, before outwitting South Korea’s Mi-reu Kang 16-5 and 8-3 in the semi-final.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Kamonchanok Seeken, who competed in the same category as Panipak, fell in the round of 16, while Sirawit Mahamad lost in the round of 32 in the men’s under-58kg.
