Taekwondo ace hangs herself
Saichol Saenkham, a taekwondo enthusiast and instructor, hanged herself from a tree yesterday in her home province of Nakhon Sawan, possibly out of stress caused by her taekwondo-teaching business and a romantic relationship.
Saichol's father, Somphong, said Saichol had been "quiet" for a month, perhaps because she was rarely selected to represent Thailand in the sport. Another member of the young woman's family said Saichol realised that she was 28 and had been a freelance instructor for many years. The source said Saichol might also have had problems with a son of the owner of a taekwondo gym. Somphong said Saichol was considering opening her own gym and was in search of financial means to do so. He said his family was not aware of Saichol's relationship with anyone. Police officers said they were investigating who sent an SMS text message to Saichol's mobile phone that said: "Don't get troubled with what mum said. She did not mean it. I'm serious. Don't be obsessed with it." Police want to determine whether the message had something to do with her decision to commit suicide. Reporters were denied entry to Saichol's funeral at Wat Nakhon Sawan by her family. Saichol entered taekwondo competitions in 1998 and won a national title that year. She represented Thailand two years later in a heavyweight bout in an Asian tournament. She later won medals in the SEA Games and a bronze in the Asean Universities Tournament last year.
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