SCGP Newsroom

BASS – POPOR “THE POWER OF TEAMWORK”

Becoming the world’s No. 1 badminton players for mixed doubles in late 2021, Mr. Dechapol “Bass” Puavaranukroh and Ms. Sapsiree “Popor” Taerattanachai have already won 13 championships.Lately, they have emerged as winners in six consecutive tournaments – with the latest being “YONEX GAINWARD GERMAN OPEN 2022.” Behind their impressive success are hard work, strict discipline, teamwork, and shared goals.

Enjoying badminton, they jumped into competitions even before they turned 10. At the age of 14, they joined SCG training camp. Four years later, they successfully entered national teams.In 2015, they started playing together. From that time, they have competed in several tournaments and learned from both their losses and wins.
 

DISCIPLINE IS A MUST

Bass: “Badminton players need to have discipline. Their food, sleep, and training regimes must be strictly observed. They matter in matches.”

Popor: “Our training regime has been planned by our team. The regime prescribes alternate hard and light training. We must know when to relax and play some other sports from time to time too.”

CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS FOR TEAMWORK

Popor: “Pressure is common. But we always communicate to ensure we play the best game possible. We must know our partner’s strengths and style. We need to think in the same way and have mutual understanding.”

Bass: “We talk all the time – before, during and after games. We know what our partner thinks. If our opponents launch offensives, we need to put up a strong defense first and bring game to a normal pace. We won’t rush to hit back.”

Popor: “When a mistake happens, we won’t be angry with or blame each other. We are not emotional. We remain calm and concentrate.”

UNDERSTAND WEAKNESSES, FIND NEW STRENGTHS

Popor: “It is normal to win and lose. But when we lose out, we should learn from our losses. Weren’t we calm enough? Did our emotions run high during the game? We have talked reasonably and done some fine-tuning. When we win, we focus on building up further on our strengths. Even when we are No. 1 players in our field, we think about doing better.”

Bass: “Our badminton skills are not perfect all the time. We ruined some matches. But we seek to identify what we don’t like and try to play better.”

MOVE TOWARDS SAME GOALS

Popor: “We have shared the same goal. Winning a world championship is of course a milestone. But we still think we can fly higher. We want to win all five main championships. We will keep improving for our next matches.”

Bass: “We have never got discouraged. But we feel tired from time to time. It is quite normal, though. Aside, we understand why we exhaust ourselves. When we became the champions, we were glad. Then, we focus on our next match again.”

Appeal of Badminton

Bass: “No matter what your build, you can play badminton. This sport also proves very challenging. Players need to think all the time.”

Popor: “You need quick wits. You need speed and you need strengths in badminton matches, which are also fun.”

Advice for Others

Bass: “People have knacks for different things. Pursue what you like or what you excel in. You don’t need to be champions. You can be happy being a sport player. It depends on how you like it.”

Popor: “I hope everyone gets started when he or she has the will to do something. Don’t give up. Determination will lead to success.”

Key Motto

Bass: Think positive.

Popor: Do our best today. Don’t stop improving.