Thai Taekwondo Athletes Shine at World University Games in Germany

Bangkok: The Thai national taekwondo team achieved significant success at the World University Games, capturing a silver and a bronze medal in taekwondo events. According to Thai News Agency, on the second day of taekwondo competitions at the 32nd World University Games, Thai athlete "Fais" Sirawit Mahamad competed in the men's 58 kg category. Fais, who had previously won a bronze medal at the World University Games in Chengdu, showcased remarkable performance. In the initial rounds, he defeated Engbayar Gantulka of Mongolia and Lukasz Jan Novak of Poland with identical 2-0 scores. Continuing his winning streak, Fais triumphed over Ori Patici from Nortel and Shamsiddin Khurbonov from Uzbekistan, both with 2-0 victories. However, in the final match against Maksim Manenkov from Ukraine, Fais faced a tough challenge. After a close contest, Manenkov edged out Fais with more precise kicks, resulting in a 1-2 loss for Fais, who ultimately secured the silver medal. In the women's 49 kg category, "Guitar" Kamolchan ok Siken, a 2023 World Runner-up, demonstrated her skills by receiving a bye in the first round. She then defeated Jarden Nesher from Israel and Erika Brihida from Ukraine with convincing 2-0 wins. Advancing to the semi-finals, Kamolchanok faced Supharat Kiskalt, a Thai-German taekwondo athlete from the host nation, who had previously won a bronze medal. Despite Kamolchanok's initial lead, Supharat managed to turn the tables in the subsequent rounds, resulting in a 1-2 defeat for Kamolchanok. This performance earned her a bronze medal, contributing to the Thai Intellectual Taekwondo team's standing of 13th on the medal table with 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal.