Let's take a look at the readiness and hopes of the Thai national badminton team to win a medal at the Paris Games during the 'Cheer for Thailand with all your heart, Paris Olympics 2024' segment. Badminton at the 2024 Olympic Games, Paris Games, which will be held from July 27 to August 5, is the first time that the Thai badminton team has won all 5 categories, with a total of 9 people: men's singles "View" Kunlavut Vitidsarn, world No. 8; women's singles "May" Ratchanok Intanon, world No. 21; "May" Supanida Ketthong, world No. 16; men's doubles "M" Suphak Jomkoh and "Sky" Kitinupong Ketchum, world No. 24; women's doubles "Gift" Jongkolphan Kititharakul and "View" Rawinda Prajongjai, world No. 10; mixed doubles "Bas" Dechapol Puavaranukroh and "Popor" Sapsiree Taerattanachai, world No. 6. In every Olympic Games, badminton is considered a difficult task to win medals because the major powers that are the biggest obstacles in winning medals are all Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, India as well as ASEAN countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The closest opportunity for the Thai badminton team to winning medals was the 2004 Athens Olympic Games from "Superman" Boonsak Ponsana who won 4th place. When looking at the chances of winning a medal at the Paris Games, after the Badminton International Federation (BWF) drew the groups based on their performance and form last year, we must place our hopes on the mixed doubles category of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, who will be in Group B with So Sung-jae and Chae Yu-jung, the world's number 3 pair, and the world champions from South Korea. It is expected that the Thai mixed doubles team will be one of the two teams from this group that will make it to the final 8 teams and have a chance to win a medal for the Thai badminton team. Another category that is worth a look is the men's singles. "View" Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the 2023 world champion and his first Olympic Games, is unlikely to miss out on the group championship. Then in t he last 16, he will likely meet Kenta Nishimoto, the world's 11th ranked player from Japan, who should be able to get through. However, in the last 8, he will face a tough battle against Qi Yuqi, the world's 1st ranked player from China. If he can get through, he has a chance to win a medal. For women's singles, "May" Supanida Ketthong, who won her first Olympic quota, should be able to win Group D quite easily. However, in the last 16, she has a chance to meet Akane Yamaguchi, the world's number 5 from Japan, which will require a tough fight. While "May" Ratchanok Intanon, who is competing in her 4th Olympic Games, must compete for the champion of Group E with Tai Tzu Ying, the world's 3rd ranked player, an important rival from Taiwan, in order to get a bye in the last 16, automatically entering the last 8 to wait and meet Gregoria Mariska Tunjung from Indonesia or Kim Ga Eun from South Korea, who must compete in the second round, which she secretly hopes for deep down. In the past Olympic Games, there ha ve been dark horse athletes who have emerged and defied the odds and gone on to win Olympic medals. In this Paris Games, we hope that in addition to the categories that are in the running, the men's and women's doubles categories may also create a surprise and win medals for the Thai badminton industry. Source: Thai News Agency
Sunday, September 08, 2024