The joy of playing badminton

Oh Baddy!

OUT! One hates that word when one’s hard hitting, eye popping rally is lost due to an unforced error. Nevertheless, the thrill, the anticipation, the exuberance is what drives a player to give it their all for the next point. Badminton is truly a sport that is gender free and is equally loved by people of all ages.

You grow up playing outdoor badminton (unless your parents have forced you to take the sport seriously, in which case you play in an indoor environment) with breeze strong enough to move an empty plastic chair and yet, you cry like a baby when the shuttle crosses the white line, motivating you to keep on improving or just making you believe that it’s a useless sport. Whatever be your decision, it is the beginning of a saga that decides your destiny with this wonderful sport. The journey that begins with a cheap feather shuttle, to a plastic shuttle to save frequent purchases and back again to a feather shuttle as one grows as a player, is one of remembrance and nostalgia.

Having once developed the knack of playing badminton, it is a sweet addiction. The thrill one derives by making an opponent run the entire dimension of the court and make him literally beg for mercy is beyond words and purely devilish. The feel of the badminton racquet, the careless swoosh, the hard hitting smash, the delicate drop are all a part of an affair with the sport; so much so that it transports you to an altogether different world where you are no longer aware of the physical constraints of your body until it gives up totally, and you wish you could just lie down on a soft couch and have a massage to relieve you of all the pain. The feeling of weightlessness after an excruciating session is sweet and gives you a high that cannot be obtained otherwise.

What happens next?

You hit the gym!

Having realised the limitations of your body and sometimes cursing yourself to be such a nimble person, you end up stretching yourself at the cardio to build that perfect calf and regain lost pride. The face of your opponent haunts you at the cardio and you wonder how you lost!

The inspiration behind the sport also comes by seeing the pros play and you are in awe at their flexibility, their grit and strength of their muscles that gives them an almost unending source of power. Ah, what would you give to obtain all that!

However, physical fitness alone is not enough to achieve your dreams. Equally important is the power of the mind; the resolve to fight for each point with everything you’ve got, which, on many occasions, is the deciding factor between two equally capable opponents. This, perhaps, explains the growing importance of yoga and other meditation exercises in sports which are physically straining.

Such is the love of the sport that it’s shown innumerable times in Bollywood films and is a common hunting ground according to the movie makers, where people meet their future mates and badminton, sadly, takes the back seat. Nevertheless, it continues to attract an aspiring director who wants to do something different to leave his/her impression in the field of cinema. However, does it happen in real life or is it just on the reel? That is for the mass to decide, but, my experience suggests otherwise.

The brilliance of this sport exists in its ability to transform itself in such a manner that it can be played by aged people without straining their bodies and at the same time, keep them motivated to continue. The never ending rally between them is an experience in itself where the discussion ranges from everything under the sun and the shuttle keeps flying from one end of the court to another.

Playing badminton is a journey full of fun, fulfilment, anxiety and pressure. But as usual, the real thrill is only along the way and must be treasured, for you never know, when the eyeballs are on you and the world at large draws inspiration from your play and wonder at your capabilities.

Until then, you continue training and enjoy playing.