Thailand's world No.6 female badminton player withdraws decision to skip SEA Games 33

Pornpawee Chochuwong competes at the 2019 Hong Kong Open. Photo by BWF

Chochuwong submitted her refusal to compete at SEA Games 33 to the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) on Monday, as she felt disappointed with the way BAT treated athletes.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, Chochuwong changed her mind after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao and SAT director Kongsak Yodmanee.

Chochuwong said she had expressed her views to the officials, that the condition for her to participate in SEA Games 33 is BAT needs to change, so that young players can thrive and replace their predecessors in time, Siam Sport reported.

"The federation is inconsistent and does not promote the development of the sport," the 27-year-old player told the media. "I want BAT leaders to work with fairness and avoid abusing their power."

Chochuwong also thanked those who supported her to give her more confidence in competing. The number one female badminton player of Thailand is determined to win the women's team gold medal at the SEA Games on home soil, which will also be the last of her career.

Chochuwong rose to prominence in 2015 when she won silver at the 2015 Badminton Asia Junior Championships and the 2016 World Junior Championships. She was part of the Thailand team that won the world championship gold in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and gold in the women's singles in 2021.

Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat announced that he would resolve the issues, encouraging athletes to focus on training and competing. He instructed SAT director Kongsak to set up a special committee to investigate all problematic sports federations. The committee will also handle complaints and act as a channel for athletes to voice their opinions to the government.

Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports Atthakorn Sirilathayakorn said what Chochuwong has done is a good start to improve the country's sports scene, ensure fairness for athletes and develop sports in a sustainable and professional way.

Other sports in Thailand such as shooting, petanque, sepak takraw have also been caught in similar controversy. Flying discus shooter Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit accused the federation of a lack of transparency and poor management. Therefore, the shooter who won a gold medal at the World Cup and Asian Games decided not to participate in the SEA Games selection event.

On Sept. 23, the World Petanque and Bowls Federation (WPBC) made an unprecedented decision to ban Thailand from organizing petanque events at SEA Games 33. The reason was that the Petanque Association of Thailand was stripped of its membership for allowing banned individuals to operate. However, the ban was revoked after NOCT successfully negotiated with WPBC in France on Sept. 29.

Meanwhile, the Takraw Association of Thailand has been accused of cutting down on athletes' bonuses. SAT director Kongsak said the authority would take strong action if there was any evidence of corruption.