Saysunee Jana

Started: She took part in her first international wheelchair fencing tournament in 1999. (theguardian.com, 05 Sep 2012) Reason: She wanted to become a successful sportsperson to help provide for her family. "It was my responsibility to make money and take care of the family [as she was the oldest sibling]. I started to play wheelchair basketball and one day someone introduced me to wheelchair fencing. I had my first competition in Thailand in 1999 and won two gold medals. From then on, I knew this sport would give me a new chance to earn money, to get a better life and provide for my family after all. I had a new goal in life." (paralympic.org, 27 Sep 2019; theguardian.com, 05 Sep 2012) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (khaosod.co.th, 30 May 2024; thepeople.co, 15 Dec 2023) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she took her career Paralympic medal tally to six, the most for a female Thai athlete from any sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens she won Thailand's first medal of any colour [bronze, individual foil B] in wheelchair fencing as well as Thailand's first gold [individual epee B] in the sport. The gold medal also made her the first female Thai athlete in any sport to win gold at the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: She and athletics competitor Athiwat Paeng-Nuea were Thailand's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024) She was named 2022 Athlete of the Year in the epee B category by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation [IWAS]. (IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Facebook page, 22 Dec 2022) She received a sporting achievement award at the 2020 National Sports Day in Thailand. (bangkokpost.com, 17 Dec 2020; Instagram profile, 16 Dec 2020) She was named 2019 Best Female Athlete in the epee B category by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation [IWAS]. (IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Facebook page, 16 Nov 2020; iwasf.com, 04 Nov 2020) She was Thailand's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. (thaizer.com, 06 Sep 2012) Additional Info: WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TO WHEELCHAIR FENCING She initially took up wheelchair basketball before switching to wheelchair fencing. "Wheelchair basketball was very difficult. We shot at the same height as the non-Para players. It was hard. But I kept telling myself, 'We have to get it in, we have to shoot'. Also, I wanted to have a good salary. And then we finally made the team to represent our district to compete in Bangkok. The athlete life became very exhausting. But then I saw an open letter about a wheelchair fencing course with a coach from Hong Kong. After completing the seven-day course, the coach called me and another friend and said, 'Remember, you will have a chance to become the world champion in wheelchair fencing'. I remember the coach told me to hit a target 1000 times a day. A friend who could not stand it said it was extremely boring and tried to convince me to go back to playing basketball, but I kept on hitting it until the coach asked me to stop." (posttoday.com, 17 Mar 2019) PREVIOUS OCCUPATION She previously worked as a computer course instructor for people with impairments in Thailand. "A hope sparked when a vocational rehabilitation centre in Chiang Mai accepted applications for impaired people. A Thai tennis player advised us that studying in computers would make it easier to find work. Previously I felt that my dream was over [after the accident]. I loved teaching so much that I dreamed of becoming one. I was still teaching computers for people with impairments [when she took part in her first international wheelchair fencing tournament in 1999]." (posttoday.com, 17 Mar 2019)