Panipak Wongpattanakit edged Spanish teenager Adriana Cerezo Iglesias to win Thailand’s first gold medal in the women’s taekwondo in the 49kg category on Saturday.
Panipak, nickednamed Tennis, trailed the Spanish 9-10 with nine seconds to go when her last shot gave her two points and the 11-10 win.
Serbia’s Tijana Bogdanovic and Israel’s Abishag Semberg won the two bronze medals.
Netizens called what happened in the nine seconds a miracle, which not only gave Thailand the first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but also the first ever for the Taekwondon Association of Thailand.
“Congratulations,” the association posted a message on its Facebook account.
#NongTennis quickly became the top tweet topic Thailand.
Panipak, 23, won the bronze medal in the Olympics in Rio De Janairo five years ago.
She almost quit after returning home from her Olympic debut in Brazil but returned to training after a two-month break
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