Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Raphi Kanchanaraphi, at the urging of his parents, concentrated on being a world-class badminton player at age 17. Before immigrating to Canada, 1969, age 32, he had been seeded the number one singles badminton player in the world. Settling first in Calgary, Raphi was offered the badminton coaching job for the new Granite Club, Toronto, 1973. Raphi has a long history of tutoring, instructing, and coaching champion badminton players. In Toronto, he was Jamie McKee’s coach when Jamie became Pan American singles champion, 1978, and Canadian champion, 1977. The first President of the Thai Society of Ontario, 1975, Raphi, in this 1997 retirement party view, above, stands between Toronto brothers, Tom, left, and James Muir, right, both Canadian champions in the 1970s. The racquet they hold was used by Raphi in the 1958 Thomas Cup, a World Cup Tournament when Raphi was ranked the number one seed in the world. [Photo, courtesy Raphi Kanchanaraphi] |