Thai female taekwondo ace Panipak Wongpattanakit, aka “Tennis”, captured the Manchester 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix in the 49kg category on Friday night, by beating Merve Dincel, her opponent from Turkey 2:0.
Panipak won the first game 3:1, followed by 3:2 in the second and final game.
The win is Panipak’s fourth Grand Prix championship this year and the eighth of her career. She was awarded a US$5,000 cash prize plus another 60 points.
Altogether 256 taekwondo fighters, including two from Thailand, participated in the 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix held in Manchester, England. The other Thai fighter was Thanakrit Yodrak, aka “Haman”, the 2021 SEA Games champion in the 58-kg category.
Currently ranked World No 1, Panipak passed the first round automatically and defeated an opponent from Egypt 2:0 in the 16-member round. She went on to defeat a fighter from Israel 2:0 in the quarter final and won by 2:1 in the semi-final round to reach the final.
It was a rematch for the two fighters, after the final of the Paris 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, in which Panipak triumphed.
