They will finish around 9 pm or 9.30 pm...so it wont be possible.. Plus by that time to ge there..it will be around 10 pm.....Taufik could not sleep and felt really sleepy...just finshed interviewed in radio and TV at Aberdeen center....all participants got toys from upcoming winter olympic souvenir....and a basket of goodies....
I managed to get back to Richmond to buy two tickets at the Aberdeen center for (Friday night & Sat afternoon), at section 4, row B & C, before they closed their booth.
It seems all playewrs complain that court is too hard to play.....found out that organizer did not know how to put badminton court with right standard....being told that organizer will fix it tonight....the oval is amazing but not right place to play badminton.....
OK some pics from today's practice session. As hauge said, the players weren't very happy with the court. Joachim had practiced in the earlier session so no pics of him.
Last pic - is when they found a deformity on the court and decided to pack it in. Oops, what happened here? Lost the pics. I'll try again
Warming up for the event.. ..the whole VRC should be joining in the event.. ..wow, tis indeed a rough trip; a non-stop nearly 30 hrs in flight time only.. ..too hard?? meaning, not soft for landing??..is it concrete underneath the blue carpet & playing mat?..maybe they can add another layer or two of carpet.. ..i can see the playing mat is a bit crumpled near the edges, in the last pic (post #90) and first pic (post #94); perhaps they set it up in a hurry??.. Thanks, madbad, for snapping the pics. Looking ahead for more. Hey, you should've gotten on the court and played with Taufik; you know to receive a couple of his hard backhand smashes.. I notice Wiempie (in white & blue shirt); looks like he's gained a few lbs. Notice Anggun in red shirt, too. Who's the other gentleman playing next to Andre?
Got it.. ..i see; thanks for confirming.. ..i guess it's a small one, not really noticeable from the pic.. madbad, hope there's enough lighting in the hall, come the evening of the event. I notice there's plenty of sunlight coming in from the window, thus it helped in taking the pics.
The venue is not really suited to badminton. Visibility is poor and the lighting was certainly not designed for it. They used a corner of the Oval (it's massive) and put up temporary bleachers around the court for this event. As for photos, let see if they provide more even lighting on the day itself. The construction crew were still finalizing things as the players practiced. I took pics from both sides and one was darker while the sunlight from the other side played havoc with my settings.
^^I can imagine..^^ Do you know how many seats are provided?? *Ah, i just realized there are windows facing the players. No wonder you took most of the pics facing the sides of the court. But then it'll be dark/night time when the event occurs, so you'll be able to take it from the back line sides.
Thats th future husband of Jo Novita too.....TH and Andre decided to go to Daryl Yung's club ( where Rony and Sandiarto are coaching)..instead of practicing in the club..TH was swamped by kids lining up for pictures and signing.....Andre/Anggun lost 3 sets and bets to TH/Wimpie...Joachim went to downtown for REAL meal aka Steak....