Panipak Wongphatthanakit celebrates winning gold with the Thai national flag in Chiba, Japan, on Saturday. (Reuters photo)

Panipak Wongpattanakit beat Spanish teenager Adriana Cerezo Iglesias to win Thailand’s first gold medal in the women's taekwondo in the 49kg category on Saturday.

Panipak, nicknamed Tennis, trailed the Spanish 9-10 with nine seconds to go when her last two shots gave her two points and the 11-10 win.

Netizens called what happened in the nine seconds a miracle, which not only gave Thailand the first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but also the first ever for the Taekwondo Association of Thailand.

"Congratulations," the association posted a message on its Facebook account.

#NongTennis quickly became the top tweet topic Thailand.

Panipak, 23, won the bronze medal in the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro five years ago.

She almost quit after returning home from her Olympic debut in Brazil but returned to training after a two-month break.