The world No.1 taekwondo star lived up to her billing by outclassing her opponent Julius Dhaysi Oo of Myanmar 29-0 in the gold medal match, reports the Bangkok Post.
The victory extended Panipak’s 36-match winning streak dating back to Nov 2018.
Another medal hope Athi Sararat also triumphed in the men’s 87kg class when he beat Indonesia’s Nicolas Armanto 19-6 in the final. Myanmar’s Kyaw Min Naing took bronze.
Sasikarn Tongchan had to settle for silver in the women’s 62kg after losing to Vietnam’s Pham Thi Thu Hien in the final. Cambodia’s Casandre Nicole Tubbs got bronze.
In all, the Thai taekwondo team won five gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
Weightlifter Thanyathon Sukcharoen won the gold medal in the women’s 45kg with a new SEA Games record of 174kg total.
Surodchana Khambao also won with a new Games record of 195kg in the women’s 49kg class.
Thada Somboon-uan got silver in the men’s 55kg with a total lift of 256kg. The gold medal went to Vietnam’s Lai Gia Thanh with a new Games record of 268kg.
Missed double
Meanwhile cyclist Jutatip Maneephan won the women’s road race criterium event with a time of 46:39 seconds, edging out Vietnam’s hope Nguyen Thi That, who took silver. Malaysia’s Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir took bronze.
“I am so happy to have won the gold medal. To beat a Vietnamese rider on her home soil was a great feeling. I would like to thank all the Thai fans who have always been supporting us. And thanks to all the coaching staff as well,” said Jutatip.
Thailand missed out on a double when Sarawut Sirironnachai only managed to win silver with a time of 56:13s. The gold medal went to Vietnam’s Quang Van Cuong with the same time.
In futsal, the women’s team won the gold medal with a 2-1 victory over hosts Vietnam in the final. Malaysia got the bronze medal.
In athletics, Tony Ah-thit Payne won bronze in the men’s marathon event with a time of 2:26.400 hours.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Thanh Hoang took the gold medal while Indonesia’s Agus Prayogo took silver.
Kotchaphon Tangsrivong won silver in the women’s 20km walk event with a time of 1:56:07.000 hours. Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc grabbed gold with a time of 1:48:10.000 hours. Myanmar’s Zin May Htet took silver (1:52:34.000).
Young Elephants earn title shot
Weerathep Pomphan’s extra-time goal yesterday gave Thailand a 1-0 victory over Indonesia and a place in the men’s football final.
The Muang Thong United midfielder struck in the 95th minute after a goalless stalemate at full time to prevent a spirited Indonesian side from taking the keenly contested semi-final to a penalty shoot-out.
The match took an ugly turn towards the end as four players - one Thai and three Indonesians - were handed red cards by the match referee.
The Indonesians went on the attack from the word go and saw Marc Anthony Klok’s free-kick miss the target by a whisker early in the match.
As the Thais were pinned to their own half in the beginning, the Indonesians had another opportunity but this time it was Egy Maulana’s turn to fire his attempt wide.
Ricky Kambuaya then came dangerously close to the goal before his shot was cleared by a Thai defender.
The Thais’ first real move came in the 23rd minute when a long shot from Ben Davis forced Indonesian goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi into action.
The second half saw the Indonesians make some good counter-attacking moves with Egy once again missing his shot from inside the box.
During the last 15 minutes of the match, Indonesia pressured the Thai side and got a chance through Rachmat Irianto whose shot was cleared by goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan.
Kawin was again at his best when he denied Egy towards the end of the match.
The Thais were also denied at the other end by Indonesian goalkeeper Ernando who saved a sizzling shot from Ekanit Panya.
The Young Elephants will play Vietnam in Sunday’s final match at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi after the hosts managed to overcome Malaysia 1-0 last night.
Wattana in last eight
In snooker, Wattana Pu-ob-orm beat Malaysia’s Keen Hoo Moh 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the singles event.
In the women’s 10-ball pool singles event, Pennipa Nakjui defeated Vietnam’s Thi Ngoc Huyen 7-5. She is now guaranteed at least a bronze medal for reaching the semi-finals.
In badminton, Phittayaporn Chaiwan beat Cambodia’s Chenda Phon 21-3, 21-8 in the women’s singles round of 16.
Men’s singles hopes Khosit Phetpradab and Kunlavut Vitidsarn also progressed to the last eight.
All the doubles and mixed doubles players also won their matches to progress to the next stage yesterday.
In basketball, the Thai women’s team crushed Singapore 91-40 in the qualifying round.
Hosts dominate table
Thailand remain second in the overall standings with 62 gold medals, 66 silver and 95 bronze at time of press.
Hosts Vietnam continued to dominate the tournament with 149 gold medals, 90 silver and 83 bronze.
Indonesia are third with 42 gold, 60 silver and 56 bronze medals. Philippines are fourth, followed by Singapore in fifth place.