Sally's review of the 2005 WC.

To Loco

ah.... I can't wake up early enough cos I have to drive in from Piedmont everyday, but as long as you go to play then I'm happy!

Sally

 

ha ha... Makes his own racquets, meaning, he found a manufacturer in Asia to make racquets to his specifications so GGBC has it's own CUSTOM racquets so to speak. Make his own racquet is my shortcut to the issue.

Sally

 

Hmmm...

Making his own racquets, meaning, he found a manufacturer from Asia to make racquets for him to his own specifications so that GGBC now has CUSTOM made racquets. Making his own racquets, was my shortcut to the issue.

Hope that makes more sense!

Sally

 

Article on badminton

Hello all,

I really enjoyed this article that Stephen from GGBC found which talks about the "discovery" or "eye opening" of badminton. FINALLY there is recognition for what Badminton is REALLY about!!

FROM BACK YARD TO FOREFRONT

Phillip Hersh

Published August 23, 2005

CHICAGO TRIBUNE



Badminton is one of the Olympic sports, like Ping-Pong, that millions of people in the Unite States dismiss as games everyone PLAYS IN BACK YARDS AND REC ROOMS.



The general public has no idea how tough it is to play these games at the world elite level, partly because U.S. athletes rarely do well enough in major events to have their skills showcased for the home folks.



That is why U.S. badminton officials are trumpeting Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach as heralds for a new age in their sport.



And you can forgive USA Badminton executive director Dan Cloppas for getting a little carried away about the potential impact of Gunawan and Bach’s shocking victory in Sunday’s doubles final at the World badminton Championships in Anaheim.



Not only were they the first U.S. medallists at the badminton world meet, held 14 times since its debut in 1977, but they also are believed to be the first U.S. players to get beyond the round of 16 in any of the five events (men’s and women’s singles and doubles, mixed doubles) contested at the Olympics or worlds.



None of the other 13 U.S. entries in the 2005 worlds won more than a single match. Gunawan and Bach, seeded 13th, beat the No. 8, 1, 4, and 2 seeds on successive nights.



We’re out of the back-yard barbecue syndrome, “Cloppas said. “Children in grade schools are going to start looking at the sport differently and saying, “Well, maybe I don’t want to go into basketball or football. I want to be like Tony and Howard.”



That scenario is as unlikely as…having the United States win a world title in a sport dominated by Chinese, South Koreans and Indonesians,. Those three countries have won 51 of the 61 medals since badminton made its Olympic debut in 1992.



“to be a world champion, at home, it’s still surreal,” Bach said.



Gunawan came to the United States to study computer engineering after winning the 2000 Olympic and 2001 world doubles titles for Indonesia. Sunday, he and Bach defeated an Indonesian pair that included Gunawan’s Olympic champion doubles partner.



“(Sunday) night I stepped on the court with three legends, people I normally watch on my DVDs, “Bach said Monday. “I’m the no-namer.”



Bach, 26, came to the United States as a 2-year old from Vietnam with his parents. His father Sen Cam, was a passionate badminton player in Vietnam, and Howard began playing at a San Francisco-are YMCA when he was 5. Bach played doubles with Kevin Han at the 2004 Olympics, losing in the second round.



Gunawan, 30, is not expected to be a U.S. citizen in time for the 2008 Olympics. Age likely would prevent him from keeping up in 2012 with the pace of a sport where the shuttlecock (“birdie” for you back-yard players0 travels 150 m.p.h.



“I came here to promote badminton, and now I feel very happy to have brought this title to the USA,” said Gunawan, who coaches at the Orange County Badminton Center in Orange, Calif.



“This is the first exposure we’ve had in the United States to this kind of publicity,” Cloppas said.



A live crowd estimated at 7,500 watched the historic moment, and ESPN2 plans to show it next month. Cloppas hopes that exposure will lead some of the 8 million people said to play badminton at least once a year in the United States to become more serious players.



“When I came here, I saw players I believed had the ability to be champions,” Gunawan said. “We didn’t expect we could win, but we won anyway.”



Sally

 

BTW, when do you start playing ?? single ? double ? or mixed double usually?
>>I started playing when I was 38 years old! So ANYone can start at any age. That's whats great about badminton. I love to play doubles with guys! I like playing in the back, much to alot of guys dismay, cos I just want to get more excercise. I don't care about winning or losing but I just want to get the best possible exercise for my brain and my legs!

Sally

PS. Sorry for the late reply. GGBC has been so busy and I'm not allowed to use too much computer if it's busy.

 

Nope nope boo hoo... :crying: . He knows HOW to play and plays quite well but he says the badminton hurts his golf, which is his FIRST and ONLY love. I'm OK with that but of course I wish he would...

Sally

 

To Ants,
I already had so many comeback tours! Now I hope to make badminton tours!! Ha ha, but I still love singing but I only sing occasionally now.

As for the other questions of what racquet I use, I use our GGBC racquet that Mike Yang makes for Golden Gate Badminton Club. I use the orange one which is S 930 medium stiff. It used to be the RP 70 and it is a fantastic racquet. We also have M723 more flex and Y 803 for stiff agressive players, quite a more heavier racquet.

Sally

 

So when are you planing to go back to Msia again for a concert?[/QUOTE]
I'm actually going back to Malay on the 14th for a short trip.

Sally