KITITHARAKUL Jongkolphan

General
PLAYING DOUBLES
She is a doubles specialist, and began focusing on the discipline after starting to train with the Badminton Association of Thailand at about age 15. "At nine years old, I competed in singles and it was my main category. I competed against May [Thai player Ratchanok Intanon] in singles quite often, but she won more often. In the doubles there were more championships than singles. I spent five to six years at SCG [Badminton Academy in Bangkok] and then moved to practise at the association. It was then that I became more serious about the doubles category. I felt I liked tandem more. Singles matches would last a longer time and use a lot of force. I remember that when I was 11 or 12 years old my form [in singles] dropped a lot. My mother sent me to train more in the solo category, keeping the basics tight. It was during this time that I realised that I was not suitable for the singles category." (stadiumth.com, 20 Jul 2021)