‘Waew’ Saisunee Jana, the world’s first female wheelchair fencing hero who won 3 gold medals and 1 bronze, led the Paralympic team back to Thailand, confirming that she will continue to play in the Paralympic Games in the next 4 years in LA.
The Thai Paralympic team returned from the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, led by “Waew” Saisunee Jana, who made history as the first female wheelchair fencer in the world to win 3 gold medals from individual events in a single Paralympic Games and 1 bronze medal.
“Korn” Phongsakorn Paeyo, gold medalist in the men’s 400-meter wheelchair racing, T53 class, and “Beam” Chaiwat Rattana, gold medalist in the men’s 100-meter wheelchair racing, T34 class, along with more than 100 athletes and officials.
With Mr. Surawong Thienthong, Minister of Tourism and Sports, Dr. Kongsak Yodmanee, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, and Lieutenant Colonel Nayanop Bhirombhakdi, Chairman of the Paralympic Committee of Thailand, and Mr. Amnuay Klin-yu, President of the Bl
ind Sports Association of Thailand, along with executives in the Thai sports industry and the families of the athletes waiting to warmly welcome them.
“Waew” Saisunee Jana, a 50-year-old wheelchair fencing hero and owner of 3 gold medals and 1 bronze, opened up after making history as the world’s first female fencer to win 3 individual gold medals at a single Paralympic Games. She said she was very happy to have exceeded her goal and felt less tired after seeing her beloved daughter, Nong Ritthai. As for the future, she will continue playing for another 4 years, which will be her last time.
For Thai Paralympic athletes this time, they finished 21st in the medal table, winning the most medals, up to 6 gold, 11 silver, 13 bronze, totaling 30 medals, which is the best result in history since they had previously competed 10 times since 1984 or 40 years ago.
The criteria of the National Sports Development Fund to be given to the Paralympic team that wins a medal: Gold medal: 6,000,000 baht (one-time payment) or
7,200,000 baht (divided into payments by receiving 50% up front and the remaining 50% to be paid monthly over 4 years); Silver medal: 4,000,000 baht (one-time payment) or 4,800,000 baht (divided into payments); Bronze medal: 2,500,000 baht (one-time payment) or 3,000,000 baht (divided into payments). This means that the Thai Paralympic team will receive a total of more than 135 million baht in prize money. ‘Waew’ Saisunee Jana, who won 3 gold medals and 1 bronze medal, alone received 24.6 million baht.
Source: Thai News Agency