Thailand grabs 1st gold, bronze medals at London’s 2012 Paralympic Games

[News Bandit]

LONDON, Sept 3 -- Rungroj Thainiyom won the first gold medal for Thailand in table tennis against the Spaniard Alvaro Valera while wheelchair racer Saichon Konjen added a bronze medal to Thailand’s medal table in the 100 metre wheelchair race at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Mr Rungroj, seeded third in the competition, defeated world number one contender Alvaro Valera from Spain 3-0 games - 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 in final round of the men's singles class 6 table tennis, winning Thailand’s first gold medal.

Mr Rungroj, 25, shaved his head to celebrate winning in the semi final match against Dane Peter Rosenmeier, will receive a Bt4 million reward from the Thai government – a Bt2 million cash bonus and Bt2 million more in Bt10,000 monthly dispursements for years to come.

Meanwhile Mr Saichon, 29, added a bronze medal to the Thai contingent collection from the men's 100 metre T54 wheelchair race. Mr Saichon finished in 25.15 seconds.

Mr Supachai Koysub, a Thai wheelchair racer who competed in the same competition, finished 7th.

As for the men's 5000 metre T54 wheelchair race, Prawat Wahoram, gold medalist in the Beijing Olympic Games four years ago, finished at 5th.

Fifty Thai athletes – 39 men and 11 women – are competing in nine sports at the London Paralymics.

Thailand have won nine golds – five at Sydney 2000, three at Athens 2004 and one at Beijing 2008. (MCOT online news)

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