From Thai sweets to shuttlecocks: the long road to badminton success
Banthongyord Badminton School founder Kamala Thongkorn is delighted at the success of former students Ratchanok and Kunlavut
Kamala Thongkorn, founder of Banthongyord Badminton School in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, is bursting with pride at the success of her two former students – Ratchanok “May” Intanon and Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn.
At 18, Ratchanok became the youngest women's singles winner of the 2013 BWF World Championships in Guangzhou, China, while Kunlavut, who earned a silver medal in the Paris Olympics, was the first Thai to win that honour. He also won a gold at last year’s BWF World Championships in Copenhagen.
Kamala, who used to sell traditional Thai sweets, set up the school in 1991 so that her kids could play badminton. She started with one court and four students and brought in former Thai national team coach Pornroj Banditpisut as the trainer. When he moved to Krabi, Chinese trainer Xie Zhihua took over and has now been on the staff for 31 years.
As the number of students increased, the club moved to accommodate them. Then, in 2003, Kamala invested 100 million baht and Banthongyord was born. The school has some 300 students attending the three courses offered: basic for the under-15s; athlete for those who want to make badminton a career; and the special course where one-on-one training is provided.
Although students generate around 36 million baht in income, Kamala told Nation Group’s Post Today that it is a pittance compared to the funds needed to help athletes achieve success. That costs some 1 million baht per person and covers such expenses as coaches, sports scientists and physical therapists who follow athletes during their competitions abroad. In addition, the school supports athletes as they do not earn a salary.
Kamala said allowing students to take part in competitions is crucial to their success. We send 20-30 students to participate in competitions but becoming a badminton star is not easy.
“But despite the costs, we will continue building professional badminton players to make it into the ranks of world players and make Thailand proud.”
