On 28 October 2025 GMT+7, May Ratchanok Intanon, Thailand’s national badminton player ranked 9th in the world in women’s singles and 2nd in Thailand, spoke out about the 2025 SEA Games allowance controversy, with Thailand as host, after being one of the athletes directly affected.
This follows the case of allowance deductions for the Thai national badminton team at the SEA Games, where “View Kulwut Vitidsant” and “May Ratchanok Intanon,” two superstars of the Thai badminton squad, had their allowances cut from 60,000 baht down to just 6,000 baht.
Initially, Mew Pornpawee Chochuwong requested to withdraw from the Thai national badminton team for the 33rd SEA Games. Coach Top (Phakawat Wilailak) revealed that no one was aware of the Badminton Association of Thailand’s rule that missing scheduled physical tests would result in financial penalties.
Coach Top emphasized that the athletes’ absence was not due to neglect but because badminton competitions were scheduled almost every week. Mew Pornpawee later changed her mind and rejoined the team after Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao personally met with her and promised to resolve the issues within the Badminton Association.
Recently, May Ratchanok Intanon posted about this on her personal Instagram story, saying, “Regarding the badminton world’s drama, everything is true, and it happened during a period when I was competing and barely returned to Thailand.”