Ban Thongyord is not a cooking school. It’s a badminton camp – the training home for world’s No.2 badminton player Ratchanok "May" Intanon.
A scene of little kids in yellow T-shirts running in excitement to join their class greeted us on our arrival at Ban Thongyord. The name in Thai literally means an egg drop coated in syrup, which is a dessert But Ban Thongyord is not a cooking school. It’s a badminton camp – the training home for world’s No.2 badminton player Ratchanok "May" Intanon, whose recent world championship win has made her the country’s biggest star athlete and a household name.
"People often think that our school offers a dessert programme. It just happens to be named after our family’s dessert business," said former national youth badminton player Kanitsara Ngensrisuk, who helps her mother Kamala Thongkorn, the lady behind May’s success to manage the school after her retirement.
Supervised by the Ministry of Education, the school that is owned and managed by Kanitsara’s family, was developed in 2004 to provide students and aspiring athletes with the physical emotional and mental tools to succeed on and off court.
Occupying about 5 rai on Phutthamonthon Sai 3 Road, this four-storey building boasts 18 standard badminton courts, plus a wide range of exercise and fitness machines to ensure that players are physically able to excel in their chosen sporting field.
According to Kanitsara, about 80 promising athletes are in the programme to refine their skills while more than 200 students enjoy
sporting skills development. They are under the supervision of Thai and Chinese 
coaches, and a sports scientist.
