It is difficult to deny the gains that Thailand has made this past year. Other countries may have measurably improved; but that is not comparable to the sustained groundswell of improvement we have witnessed from this country that used to be one of game’s leaders a few decades back. It may be difficult to pinpoint any one reason or attribute to account for the fantastic run that Thailand have enjoyed. Better players coming up through the ranks. A more dedicated and focussed grassroots programme. A system that has been able to filter through the most deserving and hard-working players. Perceptive and encouraging coaches. A cultural ethos of gentleness that only covers the steel of resolve lurking under the skin. The love for this game and the ability to have fun, both of which shone through on court. And surprisingly, it’s the girls and the mixed doubles that lead the way. It is no one-off, either. There has been sustained performance and improvement going hand in hand, right through the year. The results have come by way of championship or runner-up titles, in so many tournaments. In fact, we might say, “Thailand has arrived” because we take it for granted now that we will find a Thai girl standing on the last 2 days of almost every tournament they participate in. Apart from China, which other country can claim that? I have this feeling that we will witness a shift in the power equation in women’s and XD, this year, where Thailand will be more consistently challenging the established powerhouses. It will bring back a dimension to the WS and WD matches that has been sadly missing recently. As a spectator and a follower,it will make it all so much more interesting and enjoyable for me!
Cobalt, you posted 3 threads approx 4 hrs ago and attracts not a single response:crying:...so aiya, I patronage and keep you company and make one suggestion that maybe your posts are all over the place or too long winded
Eh, thanks, OTB, I guess! But that's OK, those who want to read, can read. Those who want to join the thread to comment, can do so. Its a free world.
I know. Most right now are busy/obsessed with the Misbun drama... imagine if LYB had to resign!!! BC server would crash...
More like Cobalt at least can be objective and neutral instead of being biased and restricted by tunnel vision. That way cannot trigger much response.
I have some short clips of Thai legends like Wattanassin , Bandid Jaiyen, Channarong and Sangob playing, anyone interested to view them,please signal.
OK Wong8egg I will let you know when they are ready here. By the way why do you choose to use such a terrible pseudonym for your BC identity?
Thailand does come as a surprise in 2010. With so much going on in the early of 2010, the political instability in Bangkok and the leaving of elites players from Thailand Badminton Assosication, it is hard to believe that Thailand's badminton was able to bounce back in the later part of 2010! Who would have thought that Thailand's badminton would flourish, when Bonsak and co left the badminton association due to irreconcilable differences between players and the BAT's president with the back in April? Read more: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?80899-Thai-Team-Turmoil Then came the 15 year olds Ratchatnok Ithanon, winning her second consecutive WJC title, who appeared to be the only hope for the gloomy period thailand's badminton was going through. However, the story did not end here. This lovely young lady went on to bag 2 grand pix events at the age of 15, beating her more established seniors from Indonesia and China along the way. Just when everyone thought that the show was over, this young lady, who obviously hates to be ordinary, pulled out yet another stunt to wow the world by beating the ex-world champion Lu Lan in a super series event and stretch the WR 1 Wang Xin to 3 tough games in Asian Games team final. The emerge of the R. Ithanon in the international scene, made this whole event more dramatic. Making the rise of Thailand badminton whole look almost like a fairy tale. And the rise of 18 year old Ponsana, beating the very established Tine Baun in Denmark Open, and the amazing fairy tale run in the team event of Asian Games further alert the others that the great success in Thailand women team is more than just a fluke.
The Men's team might not have the same success as the women team. However, Pisit Poodchalat's (Sapsiree Taerattanachai also bag a gold in Woman Single) gold medal at the 2010 edition of youth Olympic games prove that their younger male counterparts can be equally threatening. In addition, their victory against Malaysia in the quarter final of Asian Games continue to warn others that they are ready to take over the powerhouse spot in SEA, if their neighbours are not careful enough. The success of their younger players against MAS backup players consolidate the fact that they have the depth to be a force to be reackoned with in years to come although they still have some distance to go compared to the Koreans and Chinese. All of these could not have happened in a short time frame. Like what cobalt said, the effort to improve their badminton might have already taken place years ago (probably decades ago). The younger batch could not have excel, have the coaches did not work their blood and heart out. The success speak of the improvement of the grass-root programme in Thailand badminton and the fans have a lot to thank their never tiring sponsor(The Siam Cement Group) and the badminton association despite the not so happy incident with the BAT's president. The sacrifice behind the success is great and Thailand has show that it is all worth while in the end. Will Thailand's badminton ride on their recent success and bring their badminton to a new height in 2011? This question is yet to be answered. But I wish Thailand badminton all the best and looking forward to their next stunning perfomance in 2011 and exciting await them to showcase the best badminton to the world!
Iceling: you seem to know quite a bit about the current condition of this sport in Thailand. Could you tell us a little more about what is being done there by way of advanced training? Does the Association send the younger players to train at clubs abroad for more exposure? Who are the main coaches at the Association?
Hey cobalt, it's LcLeing here instead of the creature from Iceland. I hope that the post above was meant for me. If not, pardon me from being nosy. To be honest, I don't know much about the sport in Thailand as I don't live in SEA and I am relatively new to badminton (it's pretty hard for me to give you a reference on how this sport has grow in Thailand). All my source came from news and articles I came across online and I will share a little bit more: Back in the 80's, there was a female player(sorry can't rememeber her name...too long for my aging brain) who won some international tournaments in the international circuit. Although she was a talented player, she quickly dissappeared from the scene, citing that it was hard for her to juggle between study and training. I still remember that she said that attending university was her only choice as you couldn't make a living out of badminton at that time. I could only deduce that even Badminton Association of Thailand(BAT) exist at that time, the incentive scheme wasn't good enough for players to train full time. This is probably why Thailand cease to be a powerhouse after the 70's. In recent time, we have seen that commercial cooperates like Yonex and LiNing has start to show some interest on professional players. We can see that Boonsak carrying goodies from (previously Kumpoo) LiNing and more money is available in the circuit. From my understanding(correct me if I am wrong), Thailand isn't exactly a country with high living standard. The development of sport probably has attracted more youngsters to take the sport as another avenue out other than the normal university route. Having said that, I remember some BCers said that this sport was normally taken up by the richer population(past 1-2 years). I remember hearing some BCers mentioned that they spotted some players from Thailand in junior tounrmanets and they usually carry the most expensive gears with them. So probably some of the richer kids who don't need to worry about finiacial means have also play competitively for the love of the sport. I also learn that badminton has start to gain more popularity in SEA (other than the traditional powerhouses) and clubs start to flourished like mushrooms after the rain, especially in Philippines and Vietnam. Which is probably why we are seeing Vietnamese player winning in the 2010 of Youth Olympic(Bronze medal in woman single). I expect more good players to appear from these countries apart from Thailand and India in the next few decades. The advantage of having these clubs are: 1) more players get to play regularly and 2) league and tournamets start rolling around in the country 3) Higher demand on coaches to stay competitive in league and etc. This has greatly raise the standard of the sport in the country. If I recall correctly, R. Inthanon has the opportunity to train with some of the ex-national players and backup players as they play in the same club. Under their tutelage(together with her coach), she already have a very fine set of skill and technique at a very young age which bring her alot of success later on. Salakjit Ponsana has a similar environment as well (well, you know who her brother is, don't you?). regarding about advanced training and the coaches...Beat me! Limsy and chris-ccc should know more than me. I wonder if they ever stumble across this thread? There are also some BCers here who are part of a very active Thai badminton community(they have an active forum online), I hope some of them will come and shed some light in this thread.
Hi LcLeing, I am sorry for misspelling you name. Yes, my earlier post was meant for you. Your response has made for very interesting reading. I look forward to other equally knowledgeable people on BC to share their views. I feel the focus will be more on Thailand in the next couple of years, and the country with the greatest growth potential in Badminton.
Agree - just watched this very entertaining match from the earlier rounds of the SS finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oaLETl0JfA&feature=related I really like this pair - he's very creative and she has a good defence (and is cute). Will look out for these and others. smautf
cobalt, i was told thailand do have strong under 12 program i mean at they are good at that age then probably after entering high school they concentrate on their studies. i am still trying to recall who was the coach who told me. i remember he said when he sent his players there to participate in one junior tournament that was quite many years ago and he was surprise of their standard even the best under 12 from malaysia, indonesia or china lost to them that's all i can remember maybe somebody from bc can tell us more
lucky that i do read this thread as for the thailand player i would say the 2009 under 19 batch is the strongest have witness their great double and single upcoming in the ajc and some of them yet to get the attention of the world hope to see them more this year
Limsy: are there any players in the Men's section who are worth identifying? It appears the girls are much stronger and have made more gains than the boys... Is there any one point of difference between their coaching styles and the coaching styles from other countries?