Pimsiri’s silver puts Thailand on the medal table
Pimsiri Sirikaew (left), gold medal winner Li Xueying and third-place finisher Yuliya Kalina of Ukraine enjoy their Olympic medals on the podium late Monday night. Reuters photo
By Terry Fredrickson
Weightlifter Pimsiri Sirikaew added 4 kilogrammes to her last lift, moving her from sixth to second to snatch Thailand's first medal of the Games. In men’s boxing there was first round success for Chatchai Butdee who easily defeated his Turkish opponent in the 52kg division. AFP photo
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Pimsiri’s silver puts Thailand on the medal table
Success in boxing and badminton raise hopes for further medals
Thailand's Chatchai Butdee (R) reacts after he defeated Turkey's Selcuk Eker (L) in the 52kg division.
An heroic effort by 58kg weightlifter Pimsiri Sirikaew earned a 2012 Olympic silver medal on Monday night, with a second Thai barely missing out on bronze.
Weightlifter Pimsiri was stuck in sixth place as she came to her last lift in the 19-woman field. But she told officials to add four kilogrammes to the bar, and lifted 140kg – a record lift for the Khon Kaen native.
But the result was heartbreak for Kattikan Gulnoi of Bangkok, who finished a single kilo behind bronze medallist Yuliya Kalina of Ukraine for a fourth place finish.
Both Thais made personal-best lifts in the event, which has two parts – a snatch, and then a clean-and-jerk. Pimsiri and Rattikan both lifted 100kg in the first section, before their records in the clean-and-jerk.
Going into the event, Pimsiri planned a snatch of 98 kilos, then moving to a clean-and-jerk of 128kg, second heaviest of the event.
Pimsiri poses for the cameras with her silver medal in one hand and a photo of His Majesty the King in the other. AFP
Rattikan had planned a 95kg snatch and a clean-and-jerk of 125kg.
But more than half the 19 competitors opted to lift 100kg or more in the snatch, forcing the Thais to step up their game.
After snatching 100kg on her very first attempt, Pimsiri ordered another 3kg on the bars – but then failed twice to make 103kg.
Even if she had made that lift, it would not have affected the outcome. The dominant Li Xueying of China won the gold with lifts of 10kg more than second-place Pimsiri.
Meanwhile, in men’s boxing Chatchai Butdee had an easy first-round tune-up in the 52kg division for what is expected to be a very tough second-round fight.
Chatchai, considered the strongest Thai hope for a boxing medal, built up a quick, 11-2 lead in the first round against Eker Selcuk of Turkey and never was seriously threatened. The final point total was 24-10.
The 27-year-old soldier from Prachin Buri next faces a far tougher opponent in the round of 16 at 3am on Saturday, Thailand time.
He must fight Robeisy Ramirez-Carrazania of Cuba, a Pan American games champion.
Badminton stars Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit defeated Adam Cwalina and Michal Logosz of Poland by a walkover in the men's doubles Monday to be assured of a quarter-final berth.
Bodin and Maeepong were leading 17-15 in the deciding set when the Poles retired after a player suffered an injury. The Thais won the second set 21-13 after losing 21-14 in the first.
It was the Thai duo's second successive win in Group B and with the top two pairs in each of the four groups advancing to the last eight, Bodin and Maneepong have secured a quarter-final spot with a group match to spare.
But their teammates in the mixed doubles, Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam lost to China's second seeds Xu Chen and Ma Jin 21-19, 21-12 in the second Group D match.
Sudket and Saralee are 1-1 after they won their their opening match on Sunday.
The Thais now have to win against a Malaysian pair in their final group game to advance to the quarter-finals.
Thailand's Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit play against Poland's Adam Cwalina and Michal Logosz during their men's doubles Group B badminton match. Reuters
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Vocabulary
podium – a small raised area where someone stands to give a speech, conduct an orchestra, give out awards, etc. แท่น, พลับพลา
pose – to stay in a particular position in order to be photographed วางท่าถ่ายรูป
salute – a formal signal make to show respect to someone สลุต
table – a list of sports teams, countries, schools, etc. that shows their position in a competition, etc ตารางรายการ, บัญชี
heroic – showing great determination to succeed or to achieve something, especially something difficult อย่างกล้าหาญ
barely – only just; almost not เกือบจะไม่
stuck –fixed in a particular position or place; unable to move ติด
bar – a long straight piece of metal or wood ท่อน
record – the best or most ever achieved สถิติ
native – someone who was born in a particular place ชาวพื้นเมือง
heartbreak
snatch – (in weightlifting) lifting the barbell to an overhead position in one smooth continuous movement ท่ายกน้ำหนักท่าแสนช
clean-and-jerk – (in weightlifting) a two-stage lift in which the lifter first lifts the barbell off the floor to a position over the chest and then finishes the lift by pushing the bar over his or her head ท่ายกน้ำหนัก คลีนแอนด์เจิร์ก
opt – to make a choice or a decision from a range of possibilities เลือก
outcome – a result ผล
dominant – more powerful or important than all others เหนือกว่า
tune-up – an activity that prepares you for a competition or performance การเตรียมพร้อan activity that prepares you for a competition or performance การเตรียมพร้อ
tough – difficult to do or to deal with ยาก ยากลำบาก
consider – to regard as; to think of as ถือว่า
lead – the position ahead of everyone else in a race or competition ตำแหน่งนำ
threatened – at risk; in danger ตกอยู่ในความเสี่ยง
opponent – a person or team being competed against in a sports event คู่ต่อสู้
defeat – to win a victory over someone in a fight, war or competition ชนะ, ปราบ
walkover – an easy victory in a game or competition, in this case, because an opponent was force to retire because of injury ชัยชนะที่ได้มาอย่างง่ายดาย (กีฬา)
doubles – a game in which two players play against another two players ประเภทคู่
assured – made certain ทำให้แน่ใจ
quarter-finals – competitions between the last eight competitors remaining in a tournament การแข่งขันก่อนรอบบรองชนะเลิศ
berth – a place or position ตำแหน่ง
retire – to stop playing in a competition because of an injury or no longer having any hope of winning ออกจากการแข่งขัน
suffer – to experience something very unpleasant or painful ประสบ
injury – physical damage done to a person or a part of their body อาการบาดเจ็บ
duo – two people who work together or do something together สองคน, คู่
successive – following immediately one after the other ต่อเนื่องกัน, ตามลำดับ
advance – to move forward, in this case, to the next round of the tournament เข้ารอบ
secure – to get or achieve something ได้รับ, ทำให้ได้ผล
to spare – having already achieved what you need; having more than enough of something
teammate – a member of the same team or group as yourself ผู้ร่วมกลุ่ม
mixed doubles – a game in which a man and a woman play together against another man and woman การแข่งขันแบบคู่ผสม (ชายและหญิง)
pair – two people who are doing something together คู่
