Dreams are sometimes hatched in the most unlikely places, such as the backyard of a candy factory on the northern outskirts of Bangkok 14 years ago.

Attached to a sweets factory named the House of Golden Teardrops, the then shabby badminton court looked nothing like an incubator for elite badminton stars but that is where the youngest singles world champion, Ratchanok Intanon, fought her way from obscurity to stardom.

Ratchanok, who became the pride of Thailand after stunning China's world No 1, Li Xuerui, to win the 2013 worlds at 18, will never forget where it all started.