WUHAN, Oct. 25 -- Former world No. 4 Boonsak Ponsana, 37, has come out of retirement to compete for Thailand in badminton at the Military World Games in Wuhan.
At the Wuhan University Student Sports Center, the Thai veteran reached the men's doubles quarterfinal partnering Arkornnit Thaptimdong, but he failed to advance further as the Thai pair lost to Chinese players Liu Cheng and Wang Yilyu 21-10, 21-10 on Friday.
"China is very, very strong. They can get all the gold medals in badminton," said the Thai player of the host nation.
In the men's team event on Wednesday, Thailand also lost to China to settle with the silver.
After retiring from the sport three years ago, Ponsana decided to give doubles a shot here for practical reasons.
"I cannot play singles any more because I'm too old. But doubles is OK for me because I can share some of my knowledge and experience," he said.
When Ponsana recalled his peak of a fourth-place finish at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, 19-year-old local boy Li Shifeng is at the opposite end of his career, priming himself for a place at the very top.
Li won gold in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, and is being tipped as one of the successors to the badminton champions China has produced, including double-Olympic gold winner Lin Dan.
"When I was young, Lin Dan was my hero. Now, it's Kento Momota [from Japan]. He is the number one in the world after all," said Li, who reached singles last four here, but lost to his countryman Lu Guangzu 21-18, 21-16 in the semifinal on Friday.
"Although he is a Japanese, from the perspective of badminton players, his mentality and way of playing are worth learning."
Li has trained with Olympic champions like Lin Dan as well as Chen Long at the renowned Bayi Badminton Club, and finds similarities between his training as a soldier and that of an elite athlete.
While Ponsana signed up with the Thai navy after retiring from the sport, Li's initiation into elite-level badminton has been through the military.
"Obeying order is the first duty of a soldier," Li said. "Our Bayi badminton project is in line with the military's qualities. If you're requested to execute a tactic by the coach, you must obey.
"Playing badminton still requires tactics and a clear head," added the Chinese teenager.