Channarong Ratanaseangsuang (born 1939), also known as Ratana, is a former

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player and coach who represented both Thailand and Canada in international competition.

Career

With a game marked by impressive mobility and consistency, during the 1960s he rated among the world's elite singles players. He reached the final of the prestigious

All-England Championship The IPW:UK All-England Championship (formerly the FWA All-England Championship) was a professional wrestling championship which was originally contested for in Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) and subsequently in International Pro Wrestling: Un ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, the semifinals in both

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, and won the open championships of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(1964, 1965) and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(1964, 1968). Channarong played a leading role on the Thai

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes referred as World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

(men's international) teams of

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and

that finished second and third in the world respectively.Herbert Scheele, ''The International badminton Federation Handbook for 1967'' (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd.,1967) 79 - 87. In the mid-1960s he moved from Thailand to North America, settling permanently in Canada after studying in the US. As a player-coach he represented Canada in three

campaigns (

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

) and won both

Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

and Canadian Open men's doubles titles with former Thai teammate Raphi Kanchanaraphi before retiring from high level competition.Badminton Canada – People in the Hall of Fame

Coaching

As a coach, he led the Canadian National team from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1979 to 1986. Channarong also mentored the Canadian players during the

BWF World Championships The BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament organized by the Badminton World Federation. It's the most prestigious badminton competition, offering the most ranking points, along with the Summer Olympics badminton events introduced in ...

in 1980, 1983 and 1985; the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

of 1970, 1982 and 1986; the

Uber Cup The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...

in 1981 and 1984; the

in 1970, 1976 and 1986; and the Olympic Games in 1996.

Achievements

Southeast Asian Peninsular Games

''Men's singles''

International tournaments

''Men's singles'' ''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Honours

Due to his achievements in badminton, he has been inducted to the Sports Hall of Fame in Sweden, Thailand and the United States. He was presented with the Vanier Award for Outstanding Young Canadian in 1978, and received the Alberta 3M Coaching Award in 1997, the Government of Canada Certificate of Merit in 1987, and the International Badminton Federation Meritorious Service Award in 1988.

References

Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Canadian male badminton players 1939 births Living people Asian Games medalists in badminton Badminton players at the 1962 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1966 Asian Games Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Channarong Ratanaseangsuang SEA Games medalists in badminton Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Competitors at the 1961 SEAP Games 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Channarong Ratanaseangsuang {{Thailand-badminton-bio-stub