"Please Receive My Bow" - Thai Taekwondo Hero Deeply Bows to Korean Master

Panipak Wongpattanakit, Thailand's First Back-to-Back Olympic Champion

A scene where a Korean coach receives a deep bow from a Thai national hero is becoming a hot topic. Panipak Wongpattanakit (27), a member of the Thai national Taekwondo team, ran to her Korean mentor, Coach Choi Young-seok, and prostrated herself in a deep bow after securing the first-ever consecutive Olympic gold medals in Thai history.

On the 7th (local time), Panipak Wongpattanakit, the Thai national taekwondo athlete who won the gold medal in the women's 49kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is bowing deeply to coach Choi Young-seok.
[Photo by AFP]

On the 7th (local time), Wongpattanakit won the gold medal by defeating China's Guo Qing in the women's 49kg Taekwondo final at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France. This is the first time in Thai Olympic history that a sport has achieved back-to-back gold medals. After emerging as a national hero by winning Thailand's first Taekwondo gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Wongpattanakit has once again set a new record in Thai Olympic history.

Coach Choi Young-seok, who received the bow from the Thai national hero, has led the Thai national Taekwondo team for over 20 years since 2002. Since his appointment, Thailand has grown into a Taekwondo powerhouse, continuously winning medals at the Olympics and Asian Games. In recognition of these achievements, Coach Choi received the highest leadership award at the Thai Sports Awards and was also honored with a royal decoration from the Thai monarchy. He later naturalized as Thai in 2022 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Known for being strict with athletes and born in the Year of the Tiger, Coach Choi is affectionately called "Tiger Choi" in Thailand. He trains athletes intensively for more than eight hours a day and is known for his strict selection criteria, refusing to select athletes with poor character regardless of their skills. Because of this, Taekwondo in Thailand is regarded as "a sport that teaches good manners and character education."

Wongpattanakit is considered Coach Choi's favorite disciple. She has grown into a world-class athlete under his guidance since she was 13 years old. After winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and contemplating retirement, Coach Choi played a crucial role in persuading her not to quit Taekwondo. Having achieved consecutive Olympic gold medals, Wongpattanakit will retire from her athletic career after this Olympics.