As hoards of cameramen zoomed in on her upon her arrival at the Tissot kiosk within the Main Press Centre, Pawina was swarmed by  Thai and international reporters. The Athens Olympics heroine and world champion gave broad smiles as she held the certificate and the Swiss wristwatch for photos.

"I feel relieved after the tough competition in Doha. Before competing yesterday [Monday], I was not hungry. Last night, I ate everything and was a bit surprised when I gained two kilos this morning," said a happy Pawina, who now holds the world records in all three disciplines in the women's 63kg category.

Asked about an incident when a Chinese staff coach apparently tried to push her as she walked down the stage on completing her second clean-and-jerk attempt, Pawina said: "I did not understand why he did that. I'm still optimistic that he might not have intended to do something ugly like that.

"Coaches and team-mates later told me the Chinese coach attempted to do everything he could to foil my chance of winning the gold medal. As Chinese weightlifter Quyang Xiaofang and I were engaged in a thrilling head-to-head battle, she suffered a right-knee injury while attempting to raise 137kg on her second attempt. It was just after I had completed my second attempt, the [Chinese] coach walked towards me and pushed me back. Many Thai staff coaches saw this," Pawina added.

"If his push was intentional, I would feel upset about his wrong behaviour. He has no spirit," she said.

A Thai weightlifting official, who did not want to be named, said the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association will verbally ask Chinese Weightlifting Association officials about the incident. However, I don't think it will be a serious case. We have already won the gold," he said.

On her academic pursuit, Pawina said, "I would like to complete my Master's Degree in Sports Science at Chiang Mai University as fast as possible."

Preechachan  Wiriyanupappong

The Nation

Doha