Thai stars ready to fight for nine Olympic places

Thai stars ready to fight for nine Olympic places

BAT keen to break its Games duck with Tokyo medal, writes Kittipong Thongsombat

Thailand are aiming to earn as many as nine tickets to the badminton competition of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In an attempt to win its first-ever Olympic medal, the Badminton Association of Thailand has been working hard and its real test gets underway in April when the year-long qualification battle starts.

BAT president Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul is hoping that the country will have nine representatives in five categories, with two of them being in the women's singles tournament.

At the Games, a country can have a maximum of two players each in the men's and women's singles events if its players are ranked in the world's top 16.

In the doubles events, a country can have a maximum of two pairs in each category provided they are ranked among the top eight.

Mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh, right, and Sapsiree Taerattanachai are ranked No.5 in the world.

At present, Ratchanok Intanon is fifth in the women's singles world rankings, followed by Nitchaon Jindapol (No.7), Busanan Ongbamrungphan (13) and Pornpawee Chochuwong (23).

In the men's singles, Tanonsak Saensomboonsuk is ranked 17th, Khosit Phetpradab 26th and Suppanyu Avihingsanon 46th.

Mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai are spotted in fifth place in the world rankings, while women's doubles duo of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai are ranked No.8.

Ratchanok, having won the 2013 world title and made the quarter-finals at the 2012 Olympics, is seen as Thailand's best bet for a medal in Tokyo.

Khunying Patama said that in the final phase of preparations for the 2020 Games, the Thai players will be training in Japan.

Thailand coach Rexy Mainaky, meanwhile, said since the primary objective of the BAT is to produce world-class badminton players and win Olympic medals, the association has restructured its development programme by focusing on elite shuttlers.

A specialist coach and a sports scientist have been brought in to help the players, he said.

"We decided to employ singles specialist coach Agus Dwi Santoso and sports science expert Sean Sturgess to help build a team that, I believe, will bring great success to the BAT," Mainaky told the Bangkok Post.

"With the experience of working with several top players, including [former] world No.1 Son Wan-Ho, Agus brings with him the skills and tactics to help our singles players reach new heights.

"Sean, who has worked with the Malaysian national team for several years, will organise and lead the support team that will be responsible for our players' fitness and well-being."

Thai badminton chief Patama Leeswadtrakul, second right, poses with national coach Rexy Mainaky, left, and players Jongkolphan Kititharakul, right, and Rawinda Prajongjai.

Mainaky said in addition to the new coaching staff, the BAT will soon hire a performance analysis expert to help the players with game plans and tactics, both of which are crucial to the players' success in today's badminton.

"With the number of coaches that we have at the moment, the ratio between players and coaches is just below 4:1," said Mainaky.

"To achieve the objective of developing world-class badminton players and Olympic medallists, we have currently selected 14 potential stars for the BAT Elite Team. They will be provided with all essential support to help them prepare and train for competitions."

The BAT has also signed an MoU with Mahidol University's College of Sports Science for cooperation in helping the players improve physical fitness, strength, physiology, biomechanics and nutrition.

The team are now in the middle of a five-week training plan to prepare for the All England championships.

With full commitment and dedication from the players, who have been working very hard since the beginning of this month, Mainaky believes that success is just around the corner.

"With good planning and execution, they will be able to compete well with the top players and win the BWF World Tour Super 500 and higher level events this year," he said.

"Also, with key players being in good form at the moment, Thailand should perform well in the Sudirman Cup, with the semi-final spot being the goal.

"The year 2019 will be a good one for Thai badminton, but 2020 will be a great year."

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