"Tennis" Panipak Wongpattanakit, former Thai national taekwondo athlete, will light the torch at the opening ceremony of the 2025 SEA Games tonight.
On 9 December 2025, "Tennis" Panipak Wongpattanakit, beloved former Thai taekwondo athlete and two-time Olympic gold medal hero, shared the good news with sports fans that she has been entrusted with the important role of lighting the torch at the 2025 SEA Games (33rd SEA Games) opening ceremony, scheduled for this evening (9 December 2025).
Traditionally, the identity of the torchbearer in major international sports events—whether SEA Games, Asian Games, or Olympic Games—is kept secret to surprise the fans.
However, this time "Tennis" revealed it herself through a post on her personal Facebook page, Tennis Panipak Wongpattanakit, accompanied by the message:
"The biggest sports event in ASEAN… This time I’m not competing, but what is Tennis up to??"
Following this, many sports fans commented guessing that Tennis would be the torchbearer. A clip showing her practicing running with the torch appeared among the comments, confirming her role in the 2025 SEA Games opening ceremony.
Panipak Wongpattanakit is considered one of Thailand’s most successful athletes and the first Thai athlete to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games: a bronze medal in 2016, a gold medal in 2020, and another gold in 2024, making history as the first Thai athlete to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Additionally, Tennis has achieved global success as a world champion, Asian champion, and gold medalist at the Asian Games (2018 and 2022), as well as winning four SEA Games gold medals (2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023). She is now set to impress once again as the torchbearer of the 2025 ASEAN sports event.