‘It Hit Me Everywhere’: Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham Reveals Painful Attempt At Surya’s Supla Shot

‘It hit me everywhere’: Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham reveals painful attempt at Surya’s Supla shot (‘It hit me everywhere’: Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham reveals painful attempt at Surya’s Supla shot (Credit: Olympics.com))

The Asian Games: Thailand batter Natthakan Chantham has revealed her attempt to add Suryakumar Yadav’s famous Supla shot to her repertoire ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, admitting that the experiment has been anything but straightforward.

"I have tried, but it hit me everywhere!” Chantham said with a laugh in an interview with Olympics.com ahead of the Asian Games 2026. “I would love to (play it), but first I have to stick to my strengths.”

Suryakumar remains Chantham’s favourite cricketer, with the Thai batter following his exploits through YouTube highlights, Instagram and the Indian cricket team’s social media channels. What appeals to her most is the freedom with which he bats.

“I could see his confidence and attitude to play,” Chantham said. “He just times the ball. He does not care about having good technique, or (looking) beautiful. He just times the ball well, and it becomes beautiful like he is.”

Should she ever meet the Indian star, Chantham already has a question prepared: “I want a tip to play properly - what do you call that shot? Supla shot,” she said.

Shubman Gill is another Indian batter she admires, particularly for the ease of his strokeplay. “Effortless,” Chantham said when asked what she liked about Shubman Gill’s batting. “I love someone who plays effortless and times the ball well.” Rather than discussing technique with Gill, she would prefer to understand his mindset: “I might ask about his thinking when he plays, when he’s batting,” she said. “I want to know not about technique, but about how he plays, about the mind.”

India’s influence on Chantham has also extended to her own development. She credited Indian coach Harshal Pathak with helping her become a more aggressive batter. “He guided me a lot - how to build the game, how to play aggressive batting,” Chantham said. “He impacted my batting a lot.”

Her cricket journey began almost by accident. At eight, Chantham wanted to join her school’s movie club, but it was already full. “I picked up cricket accidentally,” she recalled. “I wanted to pick the movie club, but the movie club was full and the cricket club was still empty.”

From those unlikely beginnings, Chantham became part of Thailand’s women’s cricket journey. With few established players at home to look up to, the team drew inspiration from countries such as India, Australia and England.

Cricket’s limited public recognition in Thailand remains evident in Chantham’s everyday experiences. “They still have no idea about cricket,” she said. “When they ask me what sport I play and I say cricket, I have to say it slowly, properly.

“They say, ‘Oh, is it hockey?’ And I say, ‘No, I said cricket, it’s not hockey.’”

The Asian Games provides a different kind of platform because of its popularity in Thailand. “When I tell them SEA Games, Asian Games, they definitely know,” she said. “They know that’s quite big for you and quite popular in Thailand.”

With little margin for error in a knockout competition, Chantham said Thailand cannot afford to hold anything back. “We have no excuse to say, ‘We can go easy,’ or ‘Next opportunity, next chance.’ We have no next chance,” she said. “We have to go 100 per cent and no excuses.”

The Asian Games provides a different kind of platform because of its popularity in Thailand. “When I tell them SEA Games, Asian Games, they definitely know,” she said. “They know that’s quite big for you and quite popular in Thailand.”

“The new generation have no idea about playing along with the big teams like India, Pakistan, Australia, England,” she said. “But when we reach that, it means we message them, ‘You also can do it.’”

Article Source: IANS