泰國甜點工廠成爲羽球冠軍生產線

The House of Golden Teardrops nestled among the sprawling northern suburbs of Bangkok seems an unlikely hothouse for a new generation of badminton stars.
位於曼谷北郊的甜點工廠“金色淚滴之屋”看上去並不像是孕育新一代羽毛球明星的地方。

But this dessert factory has already produced one world champion, and there could be more in the pipeline, if its owners have any say in the matter.
但這家工廠已經培養出了一位世界冠軍，而且它的所有者認爲，將來可能會有更多羽毛球冠軍從這裏誕生。

Thailand's teenage world champion Ratchanok Inthanon first picked up a badminton racket here as a young child. Her parents moved to the plant from their home near the border with Cambodia to help make sweet dumplings and other tasty Thai treats. The owner, Kamala Thongkorn, worried that young Ratchanok might run into vats of boiling water and super-heated sugar dotting the factory. She suggested that the girl might like to play badminton at the court built to the side of the plant. Ms. Kamala's sons were already showing promise and went on to represent their country.
當泰國不到20歲的世界冠軍拉差諾•因達農(Ratchanok Inthanon)還是個孩子的時候，就在這裏第一次拿起羽毛球拍。她的父母把家從泰柬邊境附近搬到這間製作湯圓和其他泰國美食的工廠。由於擔心年幼的拉差諾會跌入廠區內零散置放的開水桶和滾燙的熬糖鍋，工廠主Kamala Thongkorn建議她在廠區旁邊的球場打羽毛球。當時Kamala的幾個兒子已經在這方面顯露出潛力，代表國家參賽。

Today, one of Ms. Kamala's sons, Pattapol Ngernsrisuk, 33, is Ms. Ratchanok's coach. And the single badminton court attached to the factory has mushroomed into a full-blown, 18-court badminton school that has attracted players from around the world and is giving Thailand hope that it can churn out a slew of new players to compete at the highest levels of one of Asia's most popular sports.
現在，Kamala的一個兒子、33歲的Pattapol Ngernsrisuk是拉差諾的教練。而之前緊挨工廠的那個單塊羽毛球場已經迅速擴張爲一所擁有18塊球場的成熟培訓學校，吸引了來自全世界的學員。這所學校可以培養出一批有實力參加羽毛球最高水平競技的新選手，也給泰國帶來了希望。羽毛球是亞洲最受歡迎的運動項目之一。

Eighteen-year-old Ms. Ratchanok's victory at last week's world championships in Guangzhou, China, has already re-energized interest in a sport where the traditional powers include Indonesia, South Korea and China. Ms. Ratchanok is now a bona fide celebrity, re-telling her rags-to-riches story on television talk shows and hob-nobbing with the country's prime minister. On Wednesday, she took part in a special exhibition doubles match with Bangkok's unusually fleet-footed police chief, defeating her opponents with a flurry of deft slices and careening smashes.
現年18歲的拉差諾上週在中國廣州舉行的羽毛球世錦賽上奪冠，重新激發了人們對這項由印尼、韓國和中國等傳統羽球強國所把持運動項目的興趣。拉差諾現在真正成了名人，一次又一次地在電視節目中講述她脫貧致富的故事，還與泰國總理寒暄。週三她參加了一場特別的雙打表演賽，對陣動作步法異常迅速的曼谷警察局長。拉差諾憑藉一系列 厲的斜擊球和斜扣球打敗了對手。

But while Ms. Ratchanok's natural talent is readily apparent, some badminton insiders also point to the influence of the Banthongyod sweet factory.
拉差諾確實天賦秉異，但一些業內人士也指出，Banthongyod羽毛球學校的影響也不容忽視。

Ms. Kamala used her earnings from the factory to hire a Chinese coach to train her sons as their careers blossomed. As her interest in the sport grew, she also built more courts and set loose the coach, Xie Zhuhua, on some of the other up-and-coming players, including a young Ms. Ratchanok.
Kamala用工廠的利潤聘請了中國教練謝芝華，在她的兒子羽毛球事業取得發展時加以指導。隨着她對這項運動的興趣日漸濃厚，Kamala又建起了更多塊球場，讓謝芝華訓練其他有潛力的選手，其中就包括拉差諾。

Seven years ago, Mr. Pattapol hung up his racket to help Mr. Xie coach a new batch of youngsters and also teach his young charges some lessons learned from the international badminton circuit.
七年前，Pattapol掛拍退役，幫助謝芝華訓練新學員，向後輩傳授國際羽毛球比賽中的經驗和教訓。

Mr. Pattapol, who represented Thailand in the 2004 Olympics and was once ranked No. 9 as a doubles player, bristles at suggestions that Ms. Ratchanok's success is the result of applying Chinese coaching techniques.
Pattapol曾代表泰國參加了2004年奧運會，雙打排名一度升至第9位。他對於將拉差諾的成功歸因於採用中國訓練技巧的說法感到不悅。

At first we coached the children following Chinese methods, which are very good for building up strength and speed, he says as children thrash at shuttlecocks behind him. But I often wondered why we couldn't win. We would still lose to Malaysia and Indonesia.
他說，“最初我們是按照中國的方法來訓練小球員，這對於力量和速度的提高十分有效。但我們仍然不能贏球，會輸給馬來西亞和印尼，我常常不明白其中的問題所在。”說這番話時，小球員們正在他身後揮拍訓練。So, Mr. Pattapol explains, I added things I learned from international players to develop more skills. I needed to add more weapons a knife and a gun, or the fluid combination of the right shots and timing to kill an opponent.
Pattapol解釋道，“我從國際羽壇的其他選手身上借鑑了經驗，我需要融入更多戰術技巧，將擊球和對賽場上時機的把握流暢地結合起來擊敗對手。”

Today the school has 250 students, including around 40 who board at the premises, and 12 coaches, including three Chinese nationals who help build up speed and stamina. Mr. Pattapol's next move is to install more exercise bikes and other gym equipment to better develop his players, and he's looking at adapting some techniques learned from sports psychologists, too.
目前，這家羽毛球學校共有250名學員，其中包括約40名寄宿學員，教練共有12名，其中包括三位訓練速度和體力的中國籍教練。Pattapol接下來將會在學校配備更多健身腳踏車和其他體育器材，幫助學員們更好的訓練。此外，他還考慮採用一些從運動心理學家那裏學來的方法。

The Chinese coaches mostly stay at the school, while I travel on the road with the players, he says. We have to show that we Thais can create our own champions.
他表示，“中國籍教練通常都會待在學校，而我自己會和運動員們一起外出參賽。我們要向大家展示泰國有能力打造出自己的羽毛球冠軍。”

Twelve-year-old Pattarasuda Chaiwan is one of Mr. Pattapol's new proteges. Originally from Lampang in northern Thailand, Pattarasuda began playing at the age of five, mimicking her elder brother. She was invited to join the school after meeting Mr. Pattapol at a tournament in Chiang Mai, with her school fees paid by Ms. Kamala, who also sponsored Ms. Ratchanok. The matriarch's investment quickly paid off, with Pattarasuda winning a junior tournament in Singapore at the age of 10 and defending her title the following year.
12歲的Pattarasuda Chaiwan是Pattapol的新門徒之一，她來自泰國北部的南邦府，從5歲就開始模仿哥哥打羽毛球。Pattarasuda在清邁的一次比賽中遇到了Pattapol，並受邀進入其羽毛球學校，曾資助過拉差諾的Kamala幫她交了學費。Kamala的付出很快就獲得了回報，Pattarasuda 10歲那年在新加坡青少年羽毛球錦標賽中奪冠，並在次年衛冕。

Pattarasuda says she is now training hard to compete at her first senior event, the upcoming All Thailand. (national league)
Pattarasuda說，目前正在爲自己的首個高級組比賽──泰國全國羽毛球聯賽──進行艱苦訓練。

I sometimes feel tired because of all the training, Pattarasuda says, but I don't give up. I want to be a champion, just like Mei, referring to Ms. Ratchanok by her nickname.
Pattarasuda說，“訓練有時會讓自己感到很累，但是不能放棄，我希望能像拉差諾一樣成爲冠軍。”

In fact, the two share the same bedroom at the school dormitory, where Pattarasuda rises every morning at 5.30 am to fit in 90 minutes of practice before going to classes at a regular school at 7 a.m.
事實上，Pattarasuda和拉差諾在學校同住一間宿舍，她每天早晨5:30起牀，進行90分鐘訓練之後，早7點再到正規學校裏去上學。

The long-term goal from all this smashing and lobbing is to win Thailand a gold medal the next Olympics in 2016, says Ms. Kamala. It's a goal Ms. Ratchanok says she shares.
Kamala說，所有訓練的長遠目標就是在2016年下屆奧運會上爲泰國贏得一枚羽毛球金牌。而這也是拉差諾的奮鬥目標。

First, though, she wants to defeat one of the few players she has never beaten, China's former world champion Wang Yihan, whom she might face at the China Masters tournament in September.
不過，在尚未被她擊敗的爲數不多的對手中，拉差諾首先想打敗的是中國前世界冠軍王儀涵。她們倆可能會在9月份的中國羽毛球大師賽上相遇。

Then, maybe, Ms. Ratchanok says, she and her team-mates might be able to go to the beach for a spot of relaxation.
拉差諾說，這場比賽過後，她和她的隊友或許就可以去海邊放鬆一下了。