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Sarita gets number one
- Published: 19 Nov 2010 at 08.55
- Online news: Easier Stuff
It took an agonising 6 days, but Thailand finally has a gold medalist at the 16th Asian Games, one the country can be rightly proud of.
Sarita Phongsri celebrates with her gold medal after winning the women’s 53kg division final yesterday. PHOTOS BY THITI WANNAMONTHA
For a TV news report of Sarita's victory, look below the vocabulary list.
Click button to listen to first gold and rightclick to download
Sarita gets number one
It took an agonising six days, but Thailand finally has a gold medalist at the 16th Asian Games.
She is Taekwondo exponent Sarita Phongsri, a brave athlete that everyone here is rightly proud of.
With an injured eye, the teenager fought back from 3-1 down to beat Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu in the final of the women's 53kg division.
"I am very happy that I won the first gold medal for Thailand at this Asian Games," said a tearful Sarita.
"I devote the gold medal to my parents and the Thai people."
In the final, Thu raced to a 3-0 lead with a head kick before the Kasetsart University freshman cut the deficit to 3-1 in the first round.
The score remained 3-1 until the third and final round. Thu's hand hit Sarita's left eye during a clash and the fight was delayed for several minutes as she received treatment.
Soon after the match resumed, Sarita landed a beautiful back kick to Thu's head for three points and went on to win 4-3. It was Thailand's first-ever Asian Games gold medal in Korea's martial art.
"When I was receiving treatment, I heard my coach encourage me to do my best and everyone at the venue started cheering for me," she said.
She will receive one million baht in bonus from the government for winning a gold medal.
"I will give the money to my parents," she said.
The Bangkok native said she wanted to win gold at the world championships after finishing second last year. She said she had surgery on her left knee earlier this year and did not have much time to prepare for the Guangzhou tournament.
Thailand's Korean coach Choi Young Seok said: "I am very happy that Sarita won the first gold medal for Thailand.
"At the beginning, she looked nervous. I told her to do to the best of her ability and she did it."
Adapted from a story in today's Bangkok Post by Tor Chittinana & Kittipong Thongsombat.
agonising – very upsetting and seems to happen very slowly because something bad is happening ซึ่งสร้างความเจ็บปวดทางใจและกายอย่างมาก
exponent – someone who is very good at a particular skill or activity and is an example to other people ผู้สนับสนุน, ตัวแทน, แบบฉบับ
athlete – someone who is good at sports and takes part in sports competitions นักกีฬา
rightly – for a good reason อย่างถูกต้อง
proud – feeling pleased and satisfied about something that you own or have done, or are connected with ภูมิใจ
injured – hurt ซึ่งได้รับบาดเจ็บ
tearful – crying, or feeling as if you want to cry ร้องไห้,น้ำตาไหล, อยากร้องไห้
devote – to use something for a particular purpose มอบให้, อุทิศ, สละ
freshman – a student in their first year at university น้องใหม่, น.ศ. ปีหนึ่งในวิทยาลัยหรือมหาวิทยาลัย
deficit – the amount by which something is too small or smaller or less than something else จำนวนที่น้อยกว่า, จำนวนที่ขาด
clash – a brief fight between two or more people การปะทะกันสองฝ่าย
delay – to not do something until a later time or to make something happen at a later time ทำให้ช้า, ทำให้หยุดยั้ง, ทำให้เสียเวลา, เลื่อน
treatment – the process of providing medical care การรักษา
resume – to begin again after stopping for a period of time ดำเนินต่อไปใหม่
martial art – any of the fighting sports that include judo and karate ศิลปะการป้องกันตัว
encourage – to cause someone to have more confidence or hope about something ทำให้มีกำลังใจ
venue – the place where an activity or event happens สถานที่ที่จัด
native – someone who was born in a particular place ชาวพื้นเมือง
surgery – medical treatment in which a doctor cuts open someone’s body การผ่าตัด
knee – the joint between the top and bottom parts of the leg where it bends in the middle หัวเข่า
nervous – anxious about something or afraid of something กระวนกระวาย กังวลใจ
ability – a level of skill or intelligence ความสามารถม
TV report
The first three minutes of today's Morning Focus on NBT Channel 11 (presented by the Bangkok Post) covers Sarita's gold medal victory. You can see her in action below:
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- Writer: Terry Fredrickson
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