Beijing Games flyweight boxing champion Somjit Jongjohor says the 20 million Baht prize money will not change him.

Somjit will receive a total of about 20 million Baht from the Thai government and various corporate sponsors. On the evening of September 4, he and some other Thai Olympic athletes attended a party hosted by Thai Beverage Plc., an important sponsor of the Thai teams.

“I congratulate all who represented Thailand and performed duties for the country. No matter if they won a medal or not, they have won the hearts of the Thai people,” said Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, President of Thai Beverage.

The company awarded Somjit and the other gold medalist, weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon, one million Baht each. Light welterweight boxer Manus Boonjumnong and taekwondo fighter Buttree Puedpong each received 500,000 Baht for their silver medals, while the rest of the athletes received 10,000 Baht per person.

Eight Thai Olympic boxers competed at the 2008 Olympic Games at Beijing on August 9-23, but only two medals were won, a gold by flyweight Somjit Jongjohor and a silver by light welterweight Manus Boonjumnong, who has become the first Thai to ever win two Olympic medals.

After 12 years of amateur boxing, the 33-year-old Somjit was able to claim all the five wins without much difficulty before becoming the Beijing flyweight champion. Somjit’s five opponents, in time order, were Abdelillah Nhaila of Morocco (6-1), Samir Mammadov of Azerbaijan (10-2), Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan (8-1), Vincenzo Picardi of Italy (7-1), and Andry Laffita Hernandez of Cuba (8-2).

Athens Games gold medalist Manus returned to the Olympics for the second time and became the first Thai athlete to win two medals. He received a silver medal after being defeated by Manuel Félix Díaz of the Dominican Republic (12:4) in the light welterweight final. He earlier defeated Masatsugu Kawachi of Japan (8:1), Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan (7:5), and Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo of Cuba (10:5).

Boxing association chief General Taweep Jantararoj and national boxing squad manager Sakchai Wongmalasit say they will continue to work for the team for the upcoming London Games in 2012, while the Beijing Games boxers will have some time to rest before returning to the training camp on October 1.

Sakchai “Peter” Wongmalasit, manager of the Thai Olympic boxing squad, said he wants to continue to work for the national squad for the London Games in 2012 unless the team would be able to find “a more appropriate” manager.

Sakchai is responsible for the Thai boxers’ successes in Athens Games in 2004 and the Beijing Games in 2008. Thailand received from the Athens Games three medals, a gold, a silver, and a bronze, and two more, a gold and a silver, from the Beijing Games. However, Sakchai considers the Beijing result a “grand” performance as Manus’s win was the first time a Thai athlete ever received a second Olympic medal.

After twelve years, Somjit Jongjohor’s waiting for an Olympic gold medal is over.

On August 23, Somjit won a gold medal as he defeated Cuba’s Andris Laffita Hernandez with 8-2 points in the Beijing Games flyweight final, while his fellow boxer Manus Boonjumnong of the light welterweight class won a silver medal.

Bangkok’s legendary traffic was much alleviated on that day as the residents stayed in to watch the final bouts of the two boxers.

Somjit has beaten the odds and expectations as most people did not believe a 33-year-old Buriram native would be able to defeat the Cuban. But he did, with his meticulously planned tactics and experiences accumulated over the years.

Light welterweight boxer Manus Boonjumnong, who won a silver medal from the Beijing Games and a gold from the Athens Games, says he wants to compete in the London Games in 2012 as his final Olympic.

Manus, 28, the first Thai athlete to win two medals from the Olympics, says with intensive training he would still be able to become a “great boxer” like the recent Beijing Games flyweight Champion Somjit Jongjohor who is already 33.

However, Manus was planning to move up to a heavier weight class as he has troubles controlling weight and believes he would perform better in a different class. 

Manus recently lost to Diaz Felix of the Dominican Republic in the final bout of the Beijing Games, adding a silver medal the gold he won from the Athens Games in 2004.

Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand has won a gold medal as he defeated Cuba’s Andris Laffita Hernandez in the Beijing Games flyweight final.

The flyweight final match was held at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing on Saturday August 23. Somjit, who was assigned to the blue corner, seemed to be cheerful and confident as he waved to the spectators before entering the ring.

In the first round, Somjit received his first point when he hit Laffita with right hook on his torso, causing the Cuban boxer to slip to the ground. Two more right punches of the Thai seemed to hit Laffita, although only one of which resulted in a point. The first round ended with Somjit leading the score with 2-0 points.

In the second round, the confident Somjit again hit Laffita’s torso with his right hook. Soon the fourth point followed with a right cross to the Cuban’s face. He then received two more points from a right punch in the mid round and a left cross before the round ended. Somjit was leading the fight with 6-0 points.

Defending light welterweight champion Manus Boonjumnong lost to Diaz Felix of the Dominican Republic in the final bout of the Beijing Games, dashing the hope to become the first Thai athlete to win two Olympic gold medals.

Athens Games gold medalist Manus, 28, faced Felix, 25, in the light welterweight final at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing on Saturday August 23.

Manus, who was assigned to the red corner, started the game with his guards up as he waited to counter Diaz’s attacks. Manus received the first point but the aggressive Dominican caught up quickly. Diaz was able to hit the Thai boxer for the second time before the round ended. The score was 2-1 with Diaz leading.

In the second round, Manus was focusing on hitting the body of Diaz but could only get pass the tight defense once in the mid round. The two boxers were tied with 2-2 points.

Flyweight boxer Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand has defeated Vincenzo Picardi of Italy with 7-1 points in the Beijing Games semifinal, paving his way to the final against Cuba’s Andris Laffita Hernandez on August 23.

The two boxers were already familiar with each others before the Olympic event as veteran Somjit beat Picardi in the world championship flyweight semifinal in Chicago with 13-2 points.

In the first round of the Beijing Games semifinal, Picardi started an aggressive game with flurries of punches but Somjit was able to counter his strikes and hit back the Italian on his torso and face, leading the fight with scores of 2-1 at the end of the round.

Athens Games gold medalist Manus Boonjumnong beats Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo in the light welterweight semifinal of the Beijing Games with 10-5 points, earning himself a chance to claim the second Olympic gold medal if he is able to defeat Diaz Felix of the Dominican Republic on August 23.

In the semifinal bout of Manus and Iglesias on August 22, the Cuban made an aggressive move and scored the first point with a right punch on Manus’s face. The Thai fighter remained calm and played defensively until he found his chances to successfully hit the Cuban fighter with a right hook and a right cross, both landing on Iglesias’s face. The first round ended with the Thai boxer leading the scoring by 2-1 points.