Bangkok: Ratchanok Intanon has been overwhelmed by the pain of losing her mother a few days ago, and her coach has informed the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) to withdraw the former World Champion from competing at the Sudirman Cup 2021 in Vantaa, Finland, which will be held from September 26 – October 3, and from the Uber Cup which will be held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 9 to October 17.
According to Thailand media, Intanon had told her coach that her mom started to feel uncomfortable after she received the COVID-19 vaccine. Her mom was a very strong woman and did not get sick that easily. But after getting her first vaccine around the end of June, she started to feel uncomfortable and started to feel sick all the time. Her mom became very ill on the 29th of July and could no longer go to work.
Under normal circumstances, Intanon would compete at those tournaments and fight for her mother. However, at this time, she felt that she was not ready to compete, and need more time to deal with the loss of her mother.
“We must wait for May (Intanon’s nickname) to be ready mentally and emotionally. Even if she comes back to training, we will decide which tournament to send her to,” said her coach.
The BAT has yet to provide updates on Intanon’s status for those tournaments, but we hope that the association could be understanding of Intanon’s current situation. We also wish Intanon could find healing during this difficult time of loss and grieving.
