Inthanon ratchanok biography of donald

Just outside Bangkok is the Ban Thongyord dessert factory whose products are famous for their high quality sweetness. It's less well known that the factory has also produced a triple world badminton champion.

Ratchanok Inthanon is arguably the best junior in the world. For three years since she was 14. she has smashed past the planet's finest to become the first badminton player to win the world junior title for three times in a row.

Now 17, May, as she's known by her nickname, is trying her luck against the seniors at the London Olympics.

It's unlikely any of this would have happened if she hadn't been born at the famous factory.

"I started playing badminton through my parents who were working at the Ban Thongyord dessert factory. Mother Pook was worried about me getting hurt because of the hot syrup, so she took me to play badminton which I really enjoyed," said Ratchanok.

Mother Pook - or Mrs Kamala Thongkorn - said: "At that time she was six years old and stayed in my factory. There were hot stoves and boiling syrup for the desserts. I thought it was very dangerous for kids."

In time, the financial success of the factory allowed Kamala to build a brand-new badminton facility close to the factory.

Thanks to the badminton courts, her son then became a successful player and soon a large number of Thailand's talent was being nurtured in this building.

It's Kamala who has built the accommodation for dozens of players above the badminton courts. She has also hired Chinese coach Xie Shi Hua and together they have created a world champion.

Xie described then six-year-old Ratchanok as someone who used to run around helping the athletes pick up shuttlecocks. He also saw her talent to learn badminton and soon Ratchanok became a champion.

"The first time I competed was at the Udon Thani Open when I was seven years old. I became champion in the female doubles. I started to play internationally when I was 12 years o

The Thai has been out of action since the All England after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) suspended tournaments to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, the layoff gave her time to address her weaknesses and focus fully on the Olympiad.

"During the break, I worked on my fitness to make sure that I will be physically fit for three tough games. I also take practice sessions as seriously as real matches. I'm determined to put up a hard fight in the Olympics," she added.

Despite the absence of defending champion Carolina Marin of Spain, who was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, the Thai still foresees a highly competitive women's singles competition and says the door is open for anyone.

"There are plenty of tough players signing in. Others will put up a great fight as it's the Olympics. I don't write off anyone's chances," said Ratchanok, who is not sure if this will be her farewell Games.

"I will be 29 in 2024. There could be some new and better girls coming up by then. But if I'm still strong and good enough to represent Thailand, I will not hesitate," said Ratchanok who kicks off her campaign in Tokyo on July 25.

The Banthongyord Badminton School’s coach, who arrived alongside the country’s sweetheart on a flight from Singapore where she won a his¬toric third consecutive Super Series title in three weeks, said Ratchanok worked on her mental approach.

 “To be a top player, you have to be consistent. In the past May [her nickname] had many ups and downs, sometimes playing so well but mostly poorly. So we sat and talked and came up with three areas that she needed to fix which were fitness, skills and most importantly mental side of her game,” said Pattarapol.

 “While she could improve her physical condition and the skills which she’s already had to some extent, it was the mental aspect she needed to emphasise on. So before the Indian Open, she started working on that,” added Pattapol.

 More determined and more focused, the 21yearold Ratchanok showed signs of significant improvement when she easily beat archrival Li Xuerui of China 2117 2118 for the Indian Open title, followed by easy wins over Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying in the Malaysian Open and on Sunday over China’s Sun Yu in Singapore to mark herself as the first player, men or women,  in the history to win three straight Super Series crowns. She is also expected to rise to No 1 in the world on Thursday.

 With a week ahead of the Asian Championships where Ratchanok has to defend her title, the coach said training programme of Ratchanok has to be trimmed down to allow her body to recover.

 “From what I observed during Singapore Open, her footwork began to slow down obviously from playing 15 matches in three weeks not because she was not fit. Her training sessions will be cut to two a day instead of three like usual,” added the coach.

 Ratchanok, meanwhile, was bombarded with questions by a horde of media upon her arrival a