the density of quality sportsmen, have flocked to the
city in recent years. The Ivy League universities,
noticing this trend, have diverted funding towards
tapping up promising youngsters. Sun also took
advantage of this stream of young semi-professionals
and amateurs to hone his craft and test out his new,
Syed-inspired perspective on the sport.
seemed to provide the final answer as to whether
or not to play professionally. But Richard, having
nurtured Sun’s obvious talent for five years, urged him
to reconsider and gave him a book by Matthew Syed
called Bounce.
If, dear reader, you have come across this book then
you will know that it truly is a work of divergent
thinking. It promises to expose ‘the myth of talent
and the power of practice’. Having read the book,
I think that Syed has done a fairly good job of what
he set out to achieve. Its central argument (that the
folk psychology and popular legends about sporting
greatness are mostly false) is both informative and
inspiring. Sport psychology, an often dull and facile
area, is given a rejuvenated reputation through
Syed’s unique approach of storytelling and myth-
busting. It is easy to see how this piece of divergent
thinking can promote a renewed sense of optimism
in a young sportsman.
It did exactly that for Sun. At Columbia University
- Sun’s third academic destination where he played
for the first team - there was little interaction with
the coach and rarely any quality time spent on
court. Sun didn’t make the grade which is why he
looked elsewhere. But New York City, a bustling
metropolis full of young squash players, was the
ideal location to pursue the sport in other clubs
and venues. New York is full of oddities (where
else would you find a Ghostbusters’ Firehouse, an
indoor tropical rainforest, and the Federal gold vault
all within the same square mile?), so it should come
as no surprise that the comparatively niche sport of
squash is popular. Many high-profile professional
players, attracted to the metropolitan lifestyle and
Squash is a smart sport. The prize money for
professional players is low when compared with
other racket sports, so many players attend university
to provide a back-up just in case their dreams aren’t
realised. Young, budding squash players are urged to
play for passion. Sun, fancying his chances, decided
to take a couple of gap years after graduating from
Columbia in order to play the sport and test his
mettle on the professional circuit.
Hong Kong came next, and here Sun was invited
to train with the national team three times a week.
Sun flourished quickly. He made the Thai national
team in 2015 and represented his country at the
Southeast Asian Games in 2015 and 2017, missing
out on a bronze medal in the latter year by just one
win. Following a hectic playing schedule, full of
constant training and competition, Sun reached
a career high of 288th in the world.
Balancing his academic drive – a spirit which took
hold at Winchester – and his sporting ambitions has
always been difficult. To regain the academic aspect
to his life, Sun will return to education to study data
science and business management. He expects to
continue to play for Thailand and, whilst squash is
not currently an Olympic sport, hopes to become
an Olympian at the 2024 games.
Though his time of playing squash at Winchester
ended in 2012, Sun credits his current success
to his training and enjoyment of the sport whilst
at school, along with the mentoring of Richard
Atkinson and the assistance of teammates. With
this in mind, he recognises that the proposed
state-of-the-art Sports Centre, with six new
squash courts, promotes exciting opportunities
for the future of the sport at Winchester.
The Wykeham Journal 2017 27