Source:REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
[Saba Sports News] Recently, due to reduced athlete allowances, Thai star Pornpawee Chochuwong has decided to withdraw from the Southeast Asian Games. Thailand’s top women’s singles badminton player, Pornpawee Chochuwong, has submitted an application to the Sports Authority of Thailand to withdraw as a national team athlete for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games. Chochuwong stated: “I feel somewhat disheartened because I have been subjected to unfair treatment by the association’s sports development department for a long time. Although I have endured it for years, I finally decided to withdraw to prevent younger players from facing the same situation. I have no objection to the Sports Authority reducing allowances or financial support, but I am disappointed with the association for not informing me in advance about the retrospective physical testing requirement for the SEA Games. Had they notified me, I would certainly have complied.” Previously, the Thai badminton circle had already seen controversies regarding withheld athlete allowances. Furthermore, Chochuwong revealed that she had always intended to represent her country and even gave up participating in the Australia Open and a Chinese professional league to prepare for the SEA Games. Due to the lack of due support, she almost entirely paid for her training and travel expenses out of her own pocket.