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Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit (Thai: พาณิภัค วงศ์พัฒนกิจ; RTGS: Phaniphak Wongphatthanakit; born 8 August 1997) is a retired Thai taekwondo athlete. A two-time Olympic champion, she is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49 kg.
Early life
Born in Surat Thani in southern Thailand. Panipak is the youngest child of a family of three siblings. She lost her mother when she was young. Her father, a civil servant teacher, loved sports, so he nicknamed all his children after sports were Bowling, Baseball, and Tennis, respectively. Her elder sister (Bowling) and brother (Baseball) are also former swimmers.
Panipak started practicing taekwondo because she wanted to go to Phuket with her friend who was competing in taekwondo there. Her father allowed her to go but on the condition that she had to compete too. At that time, she was already practicing taekwondo but didn't pay any attention to it. She competed and lost every match. Then she started to take it seriously and eventually became a professional taekwondo athlete.
Career
Panipak became a world champion at the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships, claiming a gold medal in the 46 kg event which was her first world title. She claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the –49 kg class during her first Olympic appearance for Thailand. She nearly quit taekwondo out of frustration after the Olympics and took a brief break from the sport for about two months.
In the 2024 Summer Olympics she won gold medal again in the 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. Before the tournament, she announced that this would be her last match, as the training was too intense for her body.
Personal life
After the 2024 Summer Olympics, she revealed that she was dating fellow taekwondo practitioner Ramnarong "Junior" Sawekwiharee but had to keep it a secret for 9 years because there was a rule that prohibited national athletes from being lovers.
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Companion (Third Class) of The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn
Companion (Fourth Class) of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand_ribbon.svg){kind=small}
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Gold medalists
Silver medalists
Bronze medalists
Thailand at the 2016 Summer Olympics