Chayanan Settisrikoedkun was just three-years-old when she had an accident that left her disabled, although she has no memory of it.
When she got older, she discovered that she had fallen from her cradle onto her left arm and was unfortunately given treatment by her family that proved unsuccessful.
Although it is likely she would have made a full recovery had her family not waited a day to take her to hospital, she no longer harbours any ill feelings or is particularity mournful about the incident. This is partly because Chayanan has enjoyed considerable success; a silver medallist in table tennis from the 2014 Asian Para Games, she has now ambitiously set her sights on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
"I always think that if I had not been disabled, I would not be me today," said Chayanan. "I might be stuck in the countryside on a farm instead."
Although the 38-year-old has grown up experiencing the same hardships and derision that many disabled people experience, Chayanan now regards each taunt as stimuli that has kept her going. She now ranks 14th in the world in the "Class Nine" (with Class 1 most disabled and Class 10 mildest) classification of disability, according to the International Table Tennis Federation.
The road to the Paralympic Games for the Phitsanulok native started in 2006 when, while working as a customer relationship management officer, she became "enchanted" by the shouts and laughter coming from the ping pong table in the common area of her company. To Chayanan, "It was the scene of happiness".
One day, Chayanan asked to join in and from that moment, her life started to revolve around the sport.
"Every day when I knew that there was a lot of work for me to do, I would come to work early, and try to get everything done to be at the ping pong table at lunchtime," said Chayanan. "When nobody was free to play, I would hit the ball at the wall instead."
Very quickly, from being someone people took mercy on when playing against, Chayanan turned into a formidable player that her colleagues were in awe of.
After a while, Chayanan felt the need to fly the coop to find some real competition.
At the turn of 2009, Chayanan joined the Bangkok team for the Thailand National Games for Disabled (held in Phitsanulok), a multi-sport event for disabled players from each province. She brought home two gold medals from her first-ever real competition, and resolved to continue competing.
Emboldened by her success, Chayanan tried for a place in the Thai Paralympic team and got in. Her debut performance as a national athlete got her a bronze medal at the 2009 Asean Para Games, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She managed to nab a gold medal two years later at the same event in Surakarta, Indonesia. It was a year later that she got the silver medal at the Asian Para Games, her career high point so far.
"When I knew I was going to the Asian Para Games, I just thought that I should not come home empty-handed," said Chayanan.
"I began to practice like a crazy person. Nobody expected me to win a medal since it was my first time participating."
Nothing came easy though and getting to this stage of her career has been a real uphill struggle.
Before her second Asean Para Games event, Chayanan decided to quit her job so she had more time to focus on training. In order to stay afloat she experimented with a number of different businesses and projects, before eventually settling on selling bread at a hospital.
Even though Chayanan is rewarded with prize money if she manages to win an international game, she thinks prize money and incentives awarded to disabled athletes in Thailand pales in comparison to what is given to able-bodied athletes. It is an ongoing struggle for her and others to pursue the sports they love.
"It's not an easy road for national athletes with disabilities to get this far," said Chayanan. "All through their lives they have wrestled with a series of trials and tribulations that the able-bodied can't imagine."
Next month, Chayanan will be competing in tournaments in Slovakia and Slovenia in a bid to improve her ranking so she can win a place at the Paralympics.
If she's unsuccessful in getting into next year's Paralympic Games, she will keep on competing and try to get a place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
"I already turned my back on my career and gave up everything for the path I'm walking on," said Chayanan. "I have gone this far, so I ask myself 'why not go a little further to the finish line?'"
