‘I’ll bring back a medal’

“I PROMISE to win an Olympic medal for the Thai people. From the very beginning of the rumours that said I failed a dope test, I was downhearted but still never quite lost hope,” badminton sensation Ratchanok “May” Intanon said while shedding tears during yesterday’s press conference, which cleared the star athlete of a doping violation.

The ad-hoc meeting, chaired by Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT)’s president Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, was held at Anoma Grand Bangkok Hotel in front of a large number of sport journalists to announce the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Anti-Doping Panel’s decision on Ratchanok’s case.

Patama told reporters that ahead of Ratchanok’s departure in May for the Uber Cup World Team Championships for Women in Kunshan, China, she sustained injuries to her left back and right elbow and underwent medical treatment. 

As a result, Patama said, “triamcinolone acetonide was found in her urine sample during the analysis at the Wada [World Anti-Doping Agency]-accredited Tokyo Anti-Doping Laboratory”.

According to the Doping Hearing Panel, chaired by Rune Bard Hansen, established to consider Ratchanok’s case, triamcinolone acetonide was prohibited in competition under the 2016 WADA Prohibited Substance List when administered orally, intravenously, intramuscularly or rectally. 

However, for Ratchanok’s treatment, the substance administered on May 13 before the competition was part of ongoing medical treatment and the route of administration was via periodontal ligament injection.

The panel has cleared Ratchanok of any anti-doping rule violation and the BWF lifted her provisional suspension imposed four days ago – allowing her to participate in competitions with immediate effect, including next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“The panel sent us a confirmation late last night, saying that Ratchanok is cleared of any anti-doping rule violation and now can compete in the Rio Games. However, it’s necessary that we hold a press conference at 9am sharp, the same time that the world’s badminton-governing body, BWF, posts its official press release about Ratchanok’s clearance on its website at its headquarters in Malaysia,” Patama said.

“We [BAT and Ratchanok] were notified on Sunday, July 10 of the Adverse Analytical Finding and she was provisionally suspended on July 13,” he said. “After that, we have been working closely with the BWF in an effort to clear the problem. 

“I admit that we’ve been suffering difficulties. We want to let people know what happened and how to solve the problem. However, we could not do that as during the hearing, conducted by video conference, the BWF requested us to not give any comment to reporters.

“We had a hard time, but we’ve already cleared all problems. They let us go and Ratchanok can resume intensive training. She can now prove that she remains a medal hopeful for the Thai people in the Rio Games,” Patama said, her eyes brimming with tears.

 

‘Training hard’

World No 4 Ratchanok was all smiles as she said: “I was put under a lot of pressure waiting patiently for the BWF panel’s decision. But following the hearing’s decision, I feel a lot of relief now. I will resume training hard tomorrow to prepare myself as best as possible for the Rio Olympic Games. I will do my best out there and I promise to return with an Olympic medal for the Thai people.”

Fans in Thailand from all walks of life celebrated yesterday as they shared the BWF decision on Facebook and Instagram. 

Ratchanok, a former world champion who made history earlier this year by becoming the first shuttler to win three straight victories in Superseries events in just three weeks, is a medal hopeful to be reckoned with in Rio.

“We all worried about the situation Ratchanok has been facing,” Ratchanok’s personal coach Pattapol Ngernsrisuk said. “Everyone in the association including Khunying Patama, the vice president, secretary-general and staff coaches tried our best to bring back Thai hopes to see Ratchanok keep her chances of playing in Rio alive. 

“We really appreciated the support and morale from the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Olympic Committee of Thailand working closely with us. 

“I admit that I was confident that it would be a happy ending, as we have never intended to violate anti-doping rules. Ratchanok now will resume training and we have our fingers crossed that she will win a medal for Thailand, no matter what colour it may be.”

Ratchanok temporarily became one of two world badminton stars who fell under a cloud about use of “banned substances” before she was exonerated. 

Two years ago, Malaysia’s then-world No 1 Lee Chong Wei, a silver medallist at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics, failed a doping test. Unlike Ratchanok, who was declared innocent of any wrongdoing, Lee was punished with an eighth-month ban. 

 

BOX : 

CLEARED OF WRONGDOING

  Why Ratchanok was found not to have violated anti-doping rules

 

@ “All glucocorticoids are prohibited when administered by oral, intravenous, intramuscular or rectal routes.” For Ratchanok, glucocorticoids were administered by a periodontal ligament injection.

@The glucocorticoid triamcinolone acetone was administered on May 13 before the competition as part of ongoing medical treatment. The substance was not administered during the competition from May 15 to 22.

@Ratchanok did not dispute the laboratory results or that triamcinolone acetone was present in a urine sample collected on May 15.

@The BAT strictly followed the BWF’s suggestion not to comment pending the release of results while Ratchanok was provisionally suspended.