Memory Lane

Traveling down memory lane
Reminiscing through all that time
Traveling down memory lane
It is a joy, truly one of a kind.

2011 XII Miami Pan Am International

November 9-12th was the 2011 XII Miami Pan Am International down at the Don Shula’s club in Miami Lakes, Miami. This tournament like all the rest I have played since May 2011 counts towards the 2012 Olympic qualification. This being said it was only an International Series graded tournament but still attracted players from all over the world. Players from the Pan Am Region (North, South, Central Americas as well as the Caribbean), also players from Europe (Italy, Greece, etc), and even some players from Sir Lanka attended. Overall the tournament was not bad, had good singles and mixed matches. My doubles partner from Ecuador did not show up so we ended up having to default the match.







I ended up losing to Ilian Perez of USA 2nd round in the men’s singles draw. It was not a bad match but it does suck to lose. He ended up making it to quarter finals where he lost to the Sir Lankan who eventually won the tournament. In the mixed doubles I and my partner lost in round of 16 to Paula Obanana and Philip Chew of the USA they ended up winning the tournament.

The weather was amazing in Miami; it was a nice change from the snow and negative numbers in Calgary. There was a downside though, the whole trip every flight that I took something happened in terms of being delayed. Leaving Calgary there was a mechanical problem and delayed an hour and a half. Arriving into Miami there was a gate issue; delayed 45 minutes. Leaving Miami something happened and the flight was delayed around 40 minutes which ultimately meant that I would and did miss my connecting flight from Toronto to Calgary.



But all that I can deal with, the real downside of the trip was that I injured my right hand during the 2nd last point of last game of the tournament, my mixed match. I played a simple mid court push on my backhand and then felt an extreme pain shoot through my palm on my right hand. I dropped my racquet and clenched my hand that’s how much it hurt. To simply hold my hand still and not move it was a pain that was beyond anything I have ever dealt before, sharp pains radiated through my palm and fingers only to be amplified with any movement or touch. I was unable to use my right hand for anything and it has taken over a week for the pain to subside. I do not currently have any strength in my hand which meant all week at training all I did was footwork and then would do fitness in the gym with some leg work. This coming week sees more of the same and then once strength is restored a gradual progression into training for the Canadian International.

So after this tournament my ranking didn’t change terribly much, it went up 72 spots but I still have a little ways to go to finish off the year in the top 400 in the world. I will play 1 more international this year the 2011 Canadian International Challenge in Moncton. If I get main draw then I will easily meet my goal, if I have to qualify and fail to qualify for main draw well that will be another story. The deadline is November 22nd and we will see how many people sign up then see how many people are ranked higher than me on the world rankings to determine who is put into main draw.

All in all things are coming along as planned; we shall see how the rest of the year plays out. For once I will be able to spend a full Christmas/New Years in Calgary. Not flying over the ocean or in another country for them. Hopefully it is not a lonely holiday season; it would be great and wonderful to spend it with somebody special amongst family and friends as well. Well that is a small update for now and more to come when more happens.

Thoughts of a Badminton Athlete

So I have written a lot about badminton on this blog, not really much about body or mind though. So this entry is a little different it has to do with my mind and thoughts on a few topics.

Something weird has happened in my dreams. In one way or another I always see you in them. Its wonderful to see your face and be so close to you again but at the same time I know none of it is real. The conversations have already happened the jokes already told. The special moments nothing but shadows of the past spent. But it's the reality of this figment of my imagination that scares me the most. Why is my mind doing this to me me now? There was acceptance of what happened and the move on yet now you pop up again.

The memories are nice, seeing old friends again and catching up. Always a fun and great time to reminisce in all the good and bad times. All the stories, jokes and everything else as well. Time has passed, taken its course with us all. Driven us all down different roads. Some which cross again, some go far into the distance alone, some end up at a fork in the road while some are greeted with a dead end. Looking into the past and where I have come from what I have accomplished I know that I owe a lot of it to my hard work and determination but I also owe a lot of it to influential people in my life. From parents and coaches, training partners and opponents. From friends and acquaintances to the significant others who were always there. Your reassurance and belief, your positive attitude helped push me forward. Looking at it I have another 5 years till the next olympics and its going to be a long road. Although I may be on this road alone it is not dark and uncertain. I have the support of friends, family and countless others lighting the way. I want to thank everybody who ever believed in me, everybody who was ever there for me. All those that did, thank you.

I know I would like to have more of a social life but with such a busy schedule it’s hard. I thank all those close to me that understand. You have put up with me not being able to come to your birthday parties or special dinners, to go hang out at this or that place or make it out for wing night. When I do show up to things its usually straight from training or coaching and you are understanding. This does take a tole on my relationships though which at this point in my life im looking to settle down and get married in the next few years. I have expirences so much in the past few years in many different countries to boot it. But one thing is that I feel that desire for commitment and something stable. I will still compete and go for my goals but that is part of what is preventing me from other things.

Overall I discovered badminton late. When I started most people have already trained for 6 or 7 years and have been junior provincial champions or close to. They have put in countless hours of meaningful training and gained valuable expirence. Im about 5 years behind them but I want to take this as far as I can and see how high I can go with it. I have to understand that improvement can be a rapid but also slow and tedious process at the same time. Trying to change and learn new techniques can be stressful and time consuming, 2 steps forward and 1 step back seems to be the story of my life.

Miami international is coming up next week (November 9-12) but I have pulled my inner thigh muscle which is not a good thing at all. My body hates me day after day and my mind tries constantly to do everything I want it to. To make my body move in a certain way, swing my arm a certain way, strategize different plays and just function on everything else that I need it to do. I will take a vacation soon early next year I hope. An actual vacation no badminton at all, we shall see when/if that’s happens. but 1st my goal for the end of the year is to finish in the top 400 in the world, I’m currently 618 after losing over 1000points earlier this year in April. I need to perform well in Miami and in Moncton at the Canadian International (provided I am attending it still).