Will Olympic medal hope Ratchanok make it to Rio?
THAI FANS are keeping their fingers crossed amid rumours that Thailand’s Olympic medal hope, badminton ace and world No 4 Ratchanok Intanon, may have failed a dope test.
There is no official confirmation yet but any such development would lead Ratchanok being left out of Thailand’s squad for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
There has been an unconfirmed report that a banned substance was found in her dope test after the Asian Badminton Championships in China in April.
However, Thanuch Assawanapakas, deputy secretary-general of the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT), told the press that Ratchanok is still training intensively in preparation for next month’s Olympics in Brazil. He also said that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is yet to inform the BAT about any such development. The association will have to wait for confirmation from WADA before going public with the information, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Meechai Inwood, a Thai team doctor from the Sports Authority of Thailand, revealed that the SAT had already tested the substance and it turned out to be negative. He added that if any banned substance was found, the athlete would be axed. In Ratchanok’s case, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) must first announce that a positive substance was found ahead of the official confirmation.
Thai chef-de-mission Thana Chaiprasit said that as there has been no confirmation from the BWF, Thai athletes who have qualified for the Olympic Games have to continue their intensive training to get themselves ready.
Kamala Thongkorn, the manager of Ban Thong Yod, Ratchanok’s home club, declined to comment about Ratchanok’s case.
Ratchanok became the first Thai to become world No 1 in women’s singles. She made a victorious debut, winning the Vietnam International Challenge when she was only 14. She also made history by becoming the youngest champion at the BWF World Junior Championship at 14. In 2013, Ratchanok won the BWF World Championships after stunning world No 1 and Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui of China.
This year Ratchanok became the first singles player to win three BWF Superseries in consecutive weeks – the India Open, Malaysia, and Singapore Superseries.
