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It's gold for Thailand's Rungroj
- Published: 3 Sep 2012 at 08.53
- Online news: Easier Stuff
Thailand's Paralympic athletes have gone one step beyond their able-bodied counterparts in London, bringing home the country's first gold medal through the efforts of table-tennis star Rungroj Thainiyom.
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Rungroj Thainiyom celebrates winning Thailand’s first gold medal after he won the men’s class 6 table tennis final yesterday.
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It's gold for Thailand's Rungroj
Rungroj in action.
Thailand's paralympic athletes have gone one step beyond their able-bodied counterparts in London, bringing home the country's first gold medal.
The man who did it was table-tennis star Rungroj Thainiyom. The 25-year-old third seed stunned top seed Alvaro Valera of Spain 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10) in just 18 minutes to win the men's singles class 6 table tennis title at the ExCel Arena in London.
"I'm so happy to win the gold medal for Thailand. Before the matchI was a bit worried because I played him [Alvaro] before and lost. But in a way, it was good because I didn't have any pressure today," said Rungroj. “I had nothing to lose today; I was not expected to win; so I was relaxed.”
"I'm so happy I made it. This gold medal is for everyone back home."
It was Thailand's first gold from table tennis and the kingdom's 10th overall.
According to the International Table Tennis Federation's website, Rungroj might have had a little supernatural help on his golden day.
“My coach had a vision that if I shaved my hair, then Buddha would help me”, he. “So last night I shaved off all my hair and Buddha helped.”
On the track, however, there was disappointment for Thailand's most succcessful Paralympic athlete Prawat Wahoram. Prawat could only manage fifth in the final of the men's 5000m wheel-chair race.
The Sa Kaew native has won five golds, four silvers and one bronze in his glittering Paralympic career which began at Sydney 2000. He has one more chance to add to his total in today's 1500m event.
Adapted from agency and Bangkok Post stories
celebrate – to do something enjoyable in order to show that an occasion or event is special ฉลอง
Paralympics – an international athletics competition for people who are disabled (พิการ)
able-bodied – physically strong and healthy; not disabled, handicapped (พิการ) แข็งแรง, มีสุขภาพดี
counterpart – someone who has the same job or purpose as another person or thing, but in a different country, time, situation, or organisation ผู้ที่ทำงานประเภทเดียวกัน; ผู้ที่อยู่ในตำแหน่งเสมอกัน
seed – a competitor given a place on the list of those expected to win games in a particular competition because of the way they have played in the past ผู้ที่ถูกถูกจัดให้เป็นผู้แข่งขันชั้นนำ
stun – to surprise or shock somebody ทำให้ตะลึงงัน, ทำให้งง
pressure – a worried feeling that you get when you have to deal with a difficult or complicated situation ความกดดัน
relaxed – calm and not worried อย่างผ่อนคลาย, ซึ่งรู้สึกสบาย
overall – total; including all the things or people that are involved in a particular situation; general ทั้งหมด
supernatural - caused by forces that cannot be explained by science สิ่งที่เหนือธรรมชาติ
vision – a dream or similar experience, especially of a religious kind การเห็นหรือรู้ล่วงหน้า
shave – to make a part of your body smooth by cutting off the hair using a razor or shaver โกน
disappointment – the feeling of being unhappy because something that you hoped for or expected did not happen or because someone or something was not as good as you expected ความผิดหวัง
native – someone who was born in a particular place ชาวพื้นเมือง
glittering – very impressive and successful น่าประทับใจ, ซึ่งประสบความสำเร็
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