If I'm not wrong, it need not be a full fledged doctor, a qualified nurse or physician assistant can administer the injections.
..And for her fans across the globe. The stressy event might give her a boost in term of support during her matches. She should take this as a mental toughness test before the real business begins.
Good to hear that she is cleared and allowed to compete. It must have been stressful for her and everyone related to her badminton.
Absolutely. The story was the biggest news in Thailand when it first broke, front page headlines in the newspapers, lead story on the TV news, etc., as was the news that she was cleared and will compete in the Olympics. Not to mention what it must have been like for Nong May herself. If she was banned or proven to have used illegal drugs, it would have been devasting to her career and her reputation.
Thanks to all RI followers. Thanks to your best wish to her. I think many posts here make effect too.
Apparently, the last thing BWF wants is another scandal so soon after Kento Momota's illegal gambling case going into the Olympics and bringing the game into disrepute as well as having to worry about the inclusion of the sport in future Olympics. BWF must be considering the big picture in resolving the issue before the 18th so that the final Olympian list can be announced and the draw conducted on the 26th July. According to the Hearing Panel report, the athlete waived her right to have the B sample analyzed on 11th July (no reason stated) though earlier press news said it was sent to Japan, Tokyo Anti-doping laboratory, for analysis just as sample A was. I guess if she didn't waive it then the Hearing Panel may have to await the outcome of the B sample result, thus causing further delay in the adjudication. The expert witness, a certain Professor Areerrat Suputtitada M.D, provided testimony that it was intratendious in Intanon's case which together with the athlete's medical background and records of treatment established to the satisfaction of the Panel how it entered her body, thereby clearing her of anti-doing rule violation as The Hearing Panel concluded GC (Glucocorticoids) when administered by any other routes than oral, intravenous,intramuscular or rectal routes are not prohibited, i.e. intrarticular and/or intratendinous.. There was no mention of Intanon needing to inject the glucocorticoid steroid into her hand and back except to say it was part of her ongoing medical treatment. Also there's a discrepancy in the earlier newspaper report that it was injected into her knee which surprisingly neither BAT nor Intanon came out to deny or correct the inaccuracy. Perhaps it was deemed advisable not to address the rumours or say anything that might compromise the case. Anyway, best of luck to her, it was her good fortune that BWF is willing to quickly set up a Hearing Panel and get it over with in time for her Olympic quest and causing minimum adverse impact on her. If only Kento Momota's case involved something similar to hers instead of illegal gambling at a casino run by organised crime thus against Japanese law which is outside the jurisdiction of BWF to intervene or intercede.
I really wish to see her again in France next autumn, seeing such level of play live is an unique experience. It seriously boosted my game the week it occurred.
It was the BAT medical team that "proved" her innocence-- i.e. there were witnesses and records that provided a clear "trail" to the substance in her urine. Doping offences, like all "offences", required a basic element of intention (not only in sentencing, but also in determination of guilt)-- it's not like say, carrying illegal firearms, where you are automatically guilty if you carry one without a license. By way of contrast, you can see the mess LCW got himself into self-administering health supplements which happened to contain a prohibited substance-- the BAM can do nothing for him, and it was his own fast and frank admission of neglect combined with longstanding good reputation that led to a reduced sentence of only 8 months.
So glad to see that finally Ratchanok can play in this Rio Olympics. Really hope she can bring back the gold medal this time.
I wouldn't let a physician assistant or a nurse touch me with a intratendon or knee injection. Would you?
Well, if they are licensed or certified, I don't see why not. Is intratendinous injection that specialised ? I don't know, perhaps those in medical line here might want to help answer that question. Come to think of it, Intanon's doping incident comes and goes so abruptly from the day it's first reported here that I believe some of us are still in a bit of a daze. In the BWF Hearing Panel report, the details are sparse, no mention why or what she's treated for, when she started the GC intratendinous injections as part of her ongoing medical treatment ,and to which part of her body (the Thai newspapers said knee at first but later it turned out to be hands and back). I wonder if she is still undergoing the treatment or stopped for the time being until after the Olympics ,to play safe. Just curious, nothing else since all's well that ends well.
What I would be most curious about is who treated her. Someone who s likely to get the English anatomical names mixed up? BWF s quick decision indicates their belief that Intanon s a victim and they found a loophole to absolve her without embarrassing some culprit. All s well now and on with the real Games!
Sounds like a conspiracy theory with your allusion to a possible botched job or perhaps intentional victimization by certain sinister element. If so, do you suppose the Thai Prime Minister would just let the matter rest and allow BWF to cover up for what or who's sake ? Mind you, the sample A was sent to a WADA-approved lab in Japan, where sample B was also. Was there even a hint that Intanon is a victim anywhere in the newsmedia or BWF Hearing Panel report? More importantly, who is the expert witness? A certain Professor Areerrat Suputtitada M.D who bore testimony that it was GC intratendinous injection. Doesn't he sound like a Thai to you ? Are you suspecting an inside job by someone in the Thai camp ? An elaborate plot, by whom ? As a foreign world-class athlete, who would she or her coaches trust to have a requested known prohibited substance inject into her body ? Would she , probably accompanied by someone she trust, just walk into any clinic or hospital to have it done and was there a medical appointment made (in advance,or no need to) ? How could it be an 'English anatomical names mixed up' when GC injection was admitted by the BAT, including Intanon hersdelf, as part of her ongoing medical treatment and testified to by the expert witness professor as no other banned substance was detected by WADA ? How to taint the urine samples with other substances without it being detected? We're not talking about secretly exchanging it with clean samples, you know (in which case , what's the trick ? - I'm sure quite a number of athletes out there will be willing to pay big money for it). Pardon me, your fertile imagination somehow jogs my grey matter.
Little May's big fight http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/little-mays-big-fight . Ratchanok Intanon cannot wait to make amends for her shock collapse at London 2012. She fell apart against her Chinese opponent when well on the road to victory in the quarter-finals. PHOTO: NARIN KRUAKLAI/ THE NATION/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK Star shuttler has defied massive odds with her rags-to-riches story but still lives a simple life; now the Thai carries the hopes of a nation Published: Jul 31, 2016, 5:00 am SGT May Chen In Bangkok Bright red numerals are beaming from a digital clock on the wall, silently counting each minute in the early morning. No one is awake yet. The janitors have not begun work. There is only the faint sound of someone walking in the dim and stuffy hall. Slow at first, with small and halting steps, towards the light shining through the glass panes. The champion is walking to work. Ratchanok Intanon knows this routine by heart; her days have started this way since she was six. She knows this place even better; it is where she has been nurtured from infancy after her family arrived from the north-east province of Yasothon. Long before she became the toast of the Banthongyord Badminton School, and her name represented the best of Thai sport, she was just the daughter of labourers who made thong yord (a traditional Thai dessert of egg yolk and sugar) for a living in a factory a stone's throw away. TALE OF THE TAPE RATCHANOK INTANON CAREER-HIGH WORLD RANKING No. 1 YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION (2013) 18 HER CHANCES It's not just others who have high hopes, I'm expecting something from myself too. I'm not afraid to say I want to win a medal because I'm confident that I can really do it. The self-proclaimed tomboy played shooting games with boys on the factory grounds, but was also admittedly quite the cry-baby. "I'd open the window from the second floor and hear her cries from below," recalled Xie Zhihua, who has been coaching at Banthongyord since moving from China in 1992. Little Ratchanok slept on a mattress on the factory floor while her parents worked with scalding sugar around her, until factory owner Kamala Thongkorn scooped the toddler away from danger - and put her on the same court, where Xie was employed to train her own three children. There was little indication that badminton would be anything more than an activity to keep this child occupied. Said Ratchanok's mother, Kumpan Suvarsara: "She never showed any signs of becoming a great athlete. She was laidback, small and thin." Kumpan reckons that what their family lacked in material belongings has in turn gained her child an invaluable life lesson. When Ratchanok was about 10, she asked for a mobile phone. "At that time, she was surrounded by friends who mostly came from rich families," said Kumpan. "I told her we couldn't afford it, and that if she wanted something, she's going to have to earn it herself." Ratchanok understood that if she won enough games, she could take home more than a trophy. So she endured it all. The 5.30am training before school. Two more sessions after classes. Step off a plane from competitions overseas only to be taken straight back to court. Training until you cried. From the moment she clinched the national nine-and-under title as a seven-year-old, the narrative of her career has been one of winning when no one expected her to. It was apparent in the three straight world junior titles (2009-11), and again in her sensational 2013 upset of China's then-world No. 1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui to become the youngest world champion. NO WEIGHT'S TOO HEAVY "It would be too much burden for a normal 21-year-old, but not me. I'm strong enough to shoulder the expectations." RATCHANOK INTANON, on how her tough beginnings have made her the person she is. Everything has changed for Ratchanok. Yet very little has become different. Now a member of world badminton's elite, she is also Thailand's first world No. 1 in any sport, reaching the coveted ranking in April (she is now ranked No. 4). Lucrative endorsement deals from telcos and beverage companies have come knocking, her toothy smile fitted in braces is plastered on billboards across Bangkok, and there is no escaping requests for photographs and autographs wherever she goes. But the pride of Thailand has emerged from the stifling stratosphere of fame and wealth as the same Nong May - Thai for Little May - she has been affectionately known her whole life. She is still the devoted daughter of honest, hard workers: Kumpan is into her 23rd year at Banthongyord; her father Winutchai runs a papaya salad shop on the next street. She is still just another trainee of the school, who dons the same yellow-and-black uniform required of every student - with one distinction: She uses fresh supplies of shuttlecocks from tubes in a box labelled "For Ratchanok Only" while others use bent, battered ones. She still shares a hostel room with three others in the school compound in the Bang Khae district more than an hour's drive from Bangkok, rather than live it up like a top athlete. Her family is her mainstay and their rootedness her lodestar. She said: "It's one thing if I'm called a superstar because of what I did on court, but another to actually live like one. My parents are still here, they live simply. "It's not a luxurious lifestyle, but it's a happy and better one." Said coach Xie: "This is something that's very precious about Ratchanok. She had nothing in the past, she has everything now, but she hasn't let it get to her head or change her." The narrative arc of her career, however, is now undeniably and irrevocably different. No one expecting anything from her once is now everyone demanding only success from her. Her performance on court, and her behaviour off it, has an effect on - take a deep breath - her parents and 11-year-old brother; the badminton school that groomed her; its benevolent owner she sees as benefactor and also calls Mum; the coach who has known her from birth; the corporations that back her with millions; a city and ultimately, a country pining for its first Olympic badminton medal. It is a burden that would crush even the strongest of weightlifters, yet does not overwhelm this shuttler's slender frame. She stands tall today because she once crumbled. Her mind wanders to London's Wembley Arena in 2012, the site of her most devastating loss. That Olympic quarter-final collapse while one game up and five points from victory against China's Wang Xin left her with sleepless nights. At 17, she wanted to quit. Now, she knows that loss put her on the path to winning. "It would be too much burden for a normal 21-year-old, but not me," she said. "I'm strong enough to shoulder the expectations. I've experienced so much in my athletic life and they've made me strong both physically and mentally. "People pin their hopes on me because they believe in me. I also believe in myself." This belief has sustained Ratchanok in the pursuit of three goals. The first, to become world champion, has long been checked off the to-do list. The world No. 1 ranking is out of the way too. All that remains is standing on an Olympic podium. She said: "I'm older now, I'm strong, and I've got more experience. It's not just others who have high hopes, I'm expecting something from myself too. "I'm not afraid to say I want to win a medal because I'm confident that I can really do it." For someone who never thought she would be a representative - much less a champion - each moment competing with the Thai flag on her chest is a proud one. "It's like I'm fighting for everyone in my country," she said. "It's why I make the sacrifices, endure the tough training, because not everyone can be given this honourable duty. Thailand may not be famous in many sports but I can show that we can succeed if we work hard enough." Her badminton journey began with expediency - to get that mobile phone, to buy that washing machine for her mother (as she did after the 2013 World Championships) - but the quest is now fuelled by something greater. She said: "I was born the daughter of poor factory workers. All the opportunities I've had should not have been available to someone like me." It is past 9pm as she gingerly walks out of the hall, another gruelling, physical day in the books. The hall will go dark and quiet again. The next sound it hears will be the footsteps of the champion, walking to work in the early morning. A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 31, 2016, with the headline 'Little May's big fight'
Badminton Unlimited | Ratchanok Intanon [Episode 203 | Nov 21, 2017] Ratchanok Intanon is back in the big-time. The Thai’s recent triumph at the Danisa Denmark Open was a long time coming – snapping a winless run that stretched for over a year, on the BWF World Superseries circuit.
