This week, On The Way With Chom, the superstar “Chompoo Araya” welcomes a special guest “Popor Sapsiree” , who is the world’s 6th ranked badminton player, who just returned from the Olympics. She opens up about her journey to becoming a Thai national badminton player, talks about training and recovery methods, how to get your body back to health as quickly as possible, including training your mental state to be able to bear the pressure of the hopes of the entire country, and sets a goal to make it to the next Olympics.
The last Olympics, before we competed in important matches, training was a lifetime. But how long did the training take to get there?
Popor Traipasiri: If you ask me, I think it wasn’t that long. Because before going, it was about 5-6 weeks because badminton doesn’t have an off-season competition all year. In one year, there are about 15 matches on average, which means there is at least 1 every month. Sometimes we compete for 2 weeks in a row. If we go to Europe, it will be 3 weeks in a row. There are some.
Is the training for the competition the same as the training for Maintain?
Popor Trapsiri: It’s similar. Every time I go to compete, I have to maintain it too. But because of the location, there are many things that may not be as convenient as when we were in Thailand. But we still have to go to the gym and run as usual. It may not be as hard. We just have to maintain it.
If we compare the training schedule from the path we climbed up and gained experience with when we became a national athlete, how are they different?
Popor Sapsiree: If we start from the beginning, we only practiced 2 hours a day after school to practice. But I’ve been on the national team since I was 15 years old. The club was SCG Badminton Academy. They seemed to see something in me so they talked to my parents and told me they wanted me to come live in Bangkok so they could take care of my training and sending me to compete in everything. It would be more convenient. When I was 14, I was still playing singles. Then I won the championship across age groups, which was under 15. But when I was 15, I played across age groups to 18 and won the championship. So I’ve been on the national team since then.
When the agency started talking to our parents, had training started yet so that we could be selected for the national team?
Popor Sapsiree: It started. When we moved to Bangkok, it became like we had to practice morning and evening. We had to be responsible for our studies as well. The schedule was something like practice from 5:30 – 7 a.m., then go to school, practice again from 5:30 to 2 – 3 p.m., which is like this every day. Currently, we start practicing from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. and then again from 3 – 4 p.m. and finish from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Are you bored?
Popor Traipasiri: There are some (laughs). But it’s our profession. It’s been like this for more than half of our lives.
I understand that in training, there must be something that needs to be done repeatedly?
Popor Traipasiri: It means practicing regularly. I usually do weight training and fitness. I practice on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. The rest is about badminton skills. I only take half a day off on the week and half a day on Monday.
When we do weight training, what part do we focus on in particular?
Popor Traipasiri : Actually, it should be every part because it moves every part of the body. Arms, legs, back, hips, large muscles are all emphasized because it really moves and uses every part of the body.
In badminton, how do you train to overcome your own limitations?
Popor Traipasiri: It’s about practicing consistently. I feel like I’ve been practicing all the time, but if I stop for just 3-4 days, I know I’ll drop if I don’t do anything. I have to maintain myself all the time.
Each person is born with different physical limitations. Do you have any limitations like Po?
Popor Trapsiri: I don’t think there are any limitations. I feel that I’m not normally tall, but rather in the middle, like the general standard.
What are your advantages?
Popor Traipasiri: I think the advantage is that I am a fast player, so I can help each other as a team. For mixed doubles, it has a smoothness in itself.
What about food during training?
Popor Trapsiri: I control it myself. Normally, I eat a balanced diet, and I take care of myself.
Does weight matter?
Popor Trapsiri: Weight has no effect on badminton because it is not a sport that requires weight as a criterion for playing.
What did you eat after the competition?
Popor Traipasiri: Mostly, I eat bananas and bread. If it’s a really heavy day, I’ll eat both bananas and bread. But during the competition, I’ll eat electrolytes.
About sleeping?
Popor Trapsiri: I’m a good sleeper. I get enough sleep, 6-8 hours is normal. Before, I would sleep at 10 pm, now sometimes at 11 pm. I wake up at 7 am or 7:30 am.
Every sport uses the same body parts repeatedly, which can lead to injuries. What are the most popular badminton sports?
Popor Sapsiree: I think it was my knee. Mine was my knee. It was the 2017 Malaysian SEA Games. That day was the last match that we had to compete. That day, we competed in both mixed and women’s doubles. We used a lot of our body, plus we were tired and didn’t get enough rest. That’s why something like this happened. When I fell, my ACL tore. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to come back the same. So I didn’t finish that match. After the surgery, I couldn’t walk for 3 months. I used a stick and didn’t put weight on the side that had the surgery. It was quite a long time. The side that I didn’t use was my left side, which had atrophied. But I got strength from my right side instead. So I did some strange poses at that time that made my right side stronger.
It took me 8 months to get back to 100%. How did you recover during that time?
Popor Sapsiree: Yes, I go to the hospital every day from 7 am. From 8-10 am, there will be electrical stimulation to make us tense our muscles. There will be laser to reduce blood clots. They will have exercises for us to do. There will be a flexion machine to make us bend as much as possible and stretch as much as possible. We want to come back to play as soon as possible. We have to force ourselves quite a lot. After about 3 months, they will let us walk. They will use a support machine with air blowing inside to support us when walking. This is what we do in the morning. In the afternoon, we go to play weights at SCG. We come to do arm weights and finish with a water soak for 5-7 minutes in cold water to reduce inflammation. During the surgery, they gave us collagen. They said that deer tendons are high in collagen. Someone recommended it.
How do athletes recover and return to full health as quickly as possible?
Popor Sapsiree: The longest I’ve competed in was 3 months during COVID. I didn’t go back to Thailand for 3 months. I competed in 9 tournaments in total. In one tournament, if you hit and make it to the finals, you play 5 rounds, which is a lot. We hit and each tournament provides ice. We take the ice back to the hotel and then get in the tub and soak together, and use massage equipment. We use foam rollers and massage guns.
Is there a program for athletes to discuss their mental state with a psychologist?
Popor Sapsiree : There are some. Before the competition, we talk to a psychologist, but most of the time, Popor’s team emphasizes concentration, mindfulness, praying and walking meditation. But when everything happens in a real situation, we might lose our mindfulness a bit because badminton is a split second. The ball comes and goes. We don’t know when it will happen. Even though we train really hard, we can lose our mindfulness sometimes because the situation is stressful and pressuring us.
The pressure that carries the hopes of the entire country, how do we overcome the pressure or drama without it affecting our minds?
Popor Sapsiree: Normally, most people who play sports have expectations and pressure to win. But okay, we also have experience from the past, like how the Olympics were. We were under too much pressure, too stressed. It made us not be able to perform at our best. This time, we tried to adjust and play more relaxed, to enjoy and have the most fun. It’s difficult, but we have to try. As for the fans, we understand that they want us to win. We also want to win. We have to manage our own mental state. To be honest, I feel that the mental state is harder than the physical state. The physical state can still be trained to gain skills. We didn’t lose to any country in the world. But our mental state may not be good enough to manage ourselves.
Does this mean that in a real competition, those who are mentally strong will have an advantage?
Popor Traipasiri: Yes, that’s true. I think mental state is more important because sometimes when we lose it, we lose it for a long time. But sometimes when we lose it, some people recover faster, so that’s an advantage.
How do you practice?
Popor Sapsiree: I think everyone must have had experiences and gone through that. Before reaching this point, something must have happened first. You must have that feeling. Like sometimes, I practice very hard, but when we compete in the finals, we lose by only 1-2 points. Sometimes I feel disappointed. But with sports, I have encouragement from my family and the people around me. I don’t feel disappointed for long because in life, everyone has to move on and move forward in order to overcome the obstacles that happen to us.
Next match goal?
Popor Traipasiri: I have competitions every month anyway, so I do my best and maintain my standards. I take care of my body as best I can. I think I will try to go to the next Olympics in LA.
