i have played badminton for more than half my life, working through long gym time and tiredness and sweat, and with so much effort, i have finally met a milestone today. it finally happened. today started off as a really typical day, came home from work, had dinner. after the dinner (Chinese take out, btw), lazily, we crawl our way into the gym. arriving at 8.30pm for a gym that open 7-10pm. anyway. so there we were, yet another day in the gym, doing our routine chore to honor the Badminton God's wonderful work. we sat down for a couple of minutes on the sideline, and then two of our friends decided to get off the court so Janet and i went in and warmed up. we played some half court singles. kinda fun, janet actually is now pretty good and can play pretty competitively. we had smash, drop, clear, net tumbles. and after 10 or so mins of playing around, it finally happened, i have waited many years, i have work so many hours on the court, it finally happened: janet made a loose net shot, so i stepped up to the net, raised my racket like i have always been told to; brought my wrist high and palm facing up, racket face forward, as i have always been told to; using my fingers, propel the racket head and did a forward cut of the birdie, as i have always been told to. the birdie, upon impact, did a perfect somersaught, and it looked like it will be a very close netshot indeed, and suddenly, there it was! it just sat there right on top of the net cord, cork facing up, feather down, perfectly vertical, and completely motionless. it was perfect, it just too the exact amount of force to put it to the right place on the cord, its orientation had to be just right, the reverse downward force is just right to move this 5gram object to that position. anymore, it will go over the net, any less, it will come back here. but no, it was just right. it just sat there, quiet, serene, as if all the sorrows in the world is behind it, it didn't care at all. it was happy there. if i were to leave it, it may just sit there forever. 8 feathers on one side of the court, 8 feathers on the other side. a badminton shuttle spend all its useful life time in the badminton court, and there it was, this shuttle spans both sides of the court. people go to places like Greenwich in London to stand on both side of the globe, this birdie is resting on both sides of its world, high above, it has seen it all. it was happy. i was happy, janet was amused, people in the gym who saw it was happy for me. finally today, i have achieved a milestone after so many years slaving in the badminton court. not many people may have this honor. i can tell my grandkids that i have done it. and despite all these, it was ruled a let.
another twist ahhh yes, it is truly an unique experience doing and seeing it done. Personally i have not executed this 'let' shot before but i have witnessed a similar situation but with a slight twist. In this case, the shuttle rested side way on the net cord, the cork on one side and the skirt on the other side, motionless for all the people in the club to see. We tried balancing a shuttle manually on the net cord sideway but the shuttle just couldn't stick. We gave up after trying about 4 times.
wow, that is absolutely amazing. congrats. the only thing remotely close to that would be one time I flipped a coin and when it landed and stopped spinning, it was standing up on the thin side. But still, to balance a shuttle like that is quite a feat.
That is Amazing...when I read it the first time, I though it's just the feather is "stuck" on the net cord, but then I realized it...it wasn't stuck, it was just sitting there, perfectly balanced!! I'm amazed!
Re: another twist I had one of my shot similar like that. After one drop shot, the bird rest on the net like this position, but not long, let's say, several seconds, before it fell to my opponent's court, and I won 1 pt. ppl, including my opponent cheered for me. But, hehehhhehehe... I would rather let that one stay on the next, as cooler's case. Anyway, compare to Kwun's success, guess my shot was nothing at all. Congrats!!!
haha i admired your story telling skills.. good for you, you've reached a new plateau of badmintonation.
Congratulations, Kwun! I have yet to experience this... if I ever will! You should get a pin to wear or something from the IBF! "Shuttle Equity Club" or something...
I once made a forehand overhead drop shot from the back line where the shuttle hit the top of the tape (net) sorta did a small teetering bounce, then came to rest, balancing perfectly on the tape, in the tiny nook where the cork meets the feathers. My opponent and I ran to the net and stood there watching it in amazement. Then we called everyone else over in the gym to see. Unfortunately, after a few minutes, someone accidentally brushed the net with their racquet and the shuttle fell. We didn't even continue the game. It was a good excuse to joke, laugh, and just talk about other fine moments about the game we love... badminton. Funny how small moments in your life can stay with you forever.
That was fun but did u knwo that there is a way of tapping the bird if you are quick enough! U can get the point without it being called a net cross! I dont want to spoil your dream that u wish to share with your GREEAT GREAT GREAT grandchildren!
I have never achieved this in all my many years in badminton. You should get a certificate and a prize for this as this is akin to scoring a "Hole-in-one" in golf. Then you can show it to your grandkids and relate the incredible story at the same time! This is almost once in a lifetime achievement. Although I played less golf than badminton, I have at least got a hole-in-one a few years ago when the haze from the Indonesian plantation fires clouded our visibity. It was on a 'blind' hole, ie, one which you can't see from where you hit the ball on the tee box. This particular hole was located on the top of 'hill', about 180 meters away from where I stood and awas protected on the left flank by sand bunkers and on the right, out of bounds. The ball had to sail high across the bunkers and land close to the pin (flag). Too hard a drive would see the ball running out of the green into the rough as the terrain was on an incline and sloped downwards. I received a certificate, a trophy on which I can mount my hole-in-one ball and a Volvo sponsored golf bag. Looks like I have better luck in golf than in badminton.
haha. what a memorable day it was. too bad there was no tropies or anything to remember it with like what you had with your hole-in-one trophy. it will just have to be a snippet of memory in my head. i still vividly remember it now, hopefully my mind will not rot so much that i will forget it when i get old.
Wow, reading that build up sent tingles up my spine ! The fact that it stayed on there, it's amazing!
Nice lead up Kwun, It sounded like you fulfilled your life long dream and there is nothing left for you to live for. While reading it half way through I really thought you did something like going on your knees and asking Janet to marry you or something.LOL
Hey Kwun, I hope you kept the shuttle and put it in a protective case like the clear cubes for golf balls.
