2015 Pan Am Games

July 2015 came and Pan Am Games were upon us, the largest sporting event held in Canada even bigger than any of the 3 Olympic Games Canada has hosted. Trinidad and Tobago was sending a decent size team but we would all be arriving at different times, mainly based around when our events took place. The rule was 5 days before and then 2 days after said event. This meant that I would be in Toronto for the opening ceremonies but would not be present for the closing ones. I would be gone July 6th - 17th getting to walk in the opening ceremony on the 10th and then having my competition start on the 11th. The Pan Am Games are huge, they are essentially a mini Olympics for our region (North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean). They happen every 4 years and like the Olympics are a very prestigious event to attend, not to mention for most sports can be a direct Olympic qualifying event or provide points towards Olympic qualification, the latter is for badminton.

 

Countries showing some national pride at the dorms

 

July 6th rolled around and it was time for me to fly out, Trinidad booked my flight and I was off to Toronto thankfully just a 4 hour flight away. I arrived at Toronto Pearson’s Airport and was greeted with signs advertising the Pan Am Games and when I walked out was greeted by the assistant chef de masons and the camera of the official Trinidad Olympic Committee photographer. I got a snapshot and then made my way to the athlete transport to take me down to the village. At this point I had no accreditation and no Trinidad clothing. Adidas is the national sponsor for big games like this which meant that I was going to get a bag full of Adidas gear for the games. I jumped on the bus and behold who else is there but the Guatemalan badminton team and 2 of the Argentina badminton coaches.  Upon arrival to the village they had to print out my credentials and then I was off to find the building that Trinidad was calling home. I met the chief du mason, Dion, and then afterwards was shown to my room. The only thing is that for games like this we get gear from the national sponsors which in our case is Adidas, only problem they had my bag in a car that wasn’t at the village. So I had no actual team gear and didn’t really bring much of my own stuff since I don’t have Adidas gear already and knew I wouldn’t be able to wear Yonex gear in the village.

 

Me arriving in Toronto

 

My dorm room for the games

Player credentials, I wouldn't be able to walk around the village without this

 

Finally later that day I got my Adidas bag and opened it up to reveal all the goodies that were inside. I got a bunch of shirts, tracksuit, shoes, bags, and lots of other stuff. Toronto also put together a welcome bag for us it was a nice little duffle bag that contained some souvenirs from our time at the games. Upon getting all this I felt an awesome sense of what I was attending and the games hadn’t even started yet at that point. I still had a few days until the opening ceremonies where I would get to walk into Rogers Stadium with all the other Trinidad and Tobago athletes as well as all the other athletes from the rest of the Pan American countries participating. The parade of athletes was something that I was really looking forward to and Trinidad had given me a nice red blazer to wear, albeit one size to large but still an honour none the less.

 

Adidas gear from Trinidad and Tobago

Gifts from Toronto

The next few days would serve as practice before the games kicked off on July 10th with the opening ceremonies and then I was set to compete on the following day the 11th in the afternoon. Before that there was a few things that needed to be done such as the flag raising ceremony but since not many trinidad athletes had arrived yet there was only 4 of us present and unfortunately it was pouring rain while all that was happening. Still great to be present to put forth a great face for the country as well I was able to meet our wonderful volunteers who would be helping us through the games.

 

During the flag raising ceremony

So another day passed and we came closer to the start of the games. We were staying in the athlete’s village which was located in downtown Toronto near the waterfront. Badminton took place out in Markham at the Markham Pan Am Center. On a normal day it was only about a 40 minute drive, thankfully we had bus transportation daily and a special lane for the games vehicles so we could mostly avoid traffic but it still took a while going and coming, we also got lost one night while going back the driver took a wrong turn and we were driving the opposite direction out to Brampton. The village itself was quite the amazing experience, you had the athlete’s living quarters, dining hall, gym, entertainment, as well as many other services. 

 

View of the athletes village from my dorm balcony

The dining hall was where I spent the majority of my free time, it was open 24 hours a day and there was always lots of food and tons of athlete’s present eating. The selection was pretty good but when you are eating 7 meals a day there’s only so much variety that you can have and only so many chicken breasts you can enjoy (I use to eat at least 6-10 chicken breasts a day). The good thing was that after my competition was over I could eat whatever I wanted and the nice thing was the gym was also open 24 hours a day. It was the best combination due to the fact I could work out and then eat, rest, go workout again and then eat, having everything within walking distance. I am guilty of doing some late night (1am or later) workouts. There was also a games room that was in the village but it closed early and was always packed, it had a few pool tables, arcade machines, and various other games for the athletes to play. There were many other cool amenities for the athletes that were provided.

 

Dining hall where I spent a lot of my time

 

 

Gym that was open 24 hours where I spent the rest of my time

 

The games room, it was always packed with athletes

 

Then the day came, the biggest day of my life to date…the opening ceremonies of the 2015 Pan Am Games. July 10th marked the night the games would officially open for competition and we would have the opening ceremony at the Rogers Center with the parade of athletes and a show put on by cirque du soile. It was a long affair and started with us having to get ready early in the afternoon to line up and wait for the busses that would take us down, we took some team pictures and then after a lot of waiting loaded onto the busses. I brought my gopro with be to capture the actual event of walking into the venue. It was quite the feeling going to the Rogers center because the streets were blocked off for just the busses caring the athletes and there were tons of people lining the streets to catch a glimpse of us as we passed on the busses and even when we exited them. Things really started to sink in at that moment for me of how significant and huge a moment this was. I have never attended something of this scale and I felt honoured and amazed to represent my country at such a high level.

 

The outfit we wore for the opening cermonies

We went up to the country holding area and from this point on there was a lot of waiting to happen. Since we are Trinidad and Tobago, alphabetically we are near the end of the parade. Finally they started to call the countries and lines began to form, we moved and behind us was Uruguay and Venezuela followed lastly by the host nation Canada. When we were walking there wasn’t too many of us but we did our chant, Uruguay and Venezuela kind of beat us out there with how loud they were. Because badminton started the following morning I would not get to stay for the whole opening ceremony and would have to leave early. This meant that I would be at the back of the line unfortunately and not right up front to be seen on TV. Once we were in the tunnels you could hear the chanting from the other teams then we slowly made our way through it all and finally it was our turn. You could hear the crowd, just see slightly into the stadium through the opening. Trinidad and Tobago was heard over the loud speaker and we were off walking in following the flag bearer. Go pro recording I was not ready for what would happen next. Although I was there and physically walked around the half circle of the stadium it was such a surreal experience. All the people there cheering for us, for all the athletes it was amazing to be in that atmosphere and if I didn’t record it all would never have fully comprehended what happened. By the time I walked out the other side to go catch the bus back to the village I couldn’t believe that it actually happened. Later on I had to re watch the video and it gave me the same feeling of excitement and surrealistic experience.

 

In the tunnels waiting to walk out into the stadium

Walking around the stadium

Because I played early the next day it meant that I wasn’t able to stay and watch the whole opening ceremonies but I was able to see the fireworks coming off of the CN Tower from the athlete’s village. Not to mention I was able to re watch it all on TV with the ability to take bathroom breaks or do other things as opposed to just sitting in those hard chairs for the entire performance. That night I was still excited from the opening ceremonies but needed to get focused for my match the following morning. I would be the first Trinidad athlete to compete for the games. Because of this it meant that a lot of the executives and representatives for Trinidad would come watch me play. The chief du mason was there, the physiotherapy and team doctor were there, the RP for team Trinidad was there and tweeting about the entire event. This didn’t make me feel added pressure or anything though, which was a good thing. I was going up against the sixth seed from the USA Sattawat Pomagranitte. I had played him once before in 2013 second round at the Sao Paulo Brazil International Cup. This time it was an uphill battle from the start but I had the crowd support they knew I was the underdog and were cheering for me as I tried to slay the goliath which stood before me.

 

The match wasn’t as bad as the scores make it out to be, there were quality rallies and some good points by both of us. In the end I lost but learned a lot and gained some new fans. I was the first Trinidad and Tobago athlete to compete and unfortunately the first one to be eliminated from the games. Because there was nobody else sent that meant that I didn’t play mixed doubles or any other event. My Pan Am Games had come to an end. I stayed and watched the rest of my friends compete in their matches and then headed back to the village. It was a bittersweet moment knowing that I trained so hard for 4 years and it was all over in half an hour. At the same time it motivated me even harder to improve for the next Pan Am Games in 2019. I was to stay in the village until a few days after the last day of my event so that was a nice thing as it gave me time to explore and see Toronto as well as take in the games.  

 

The agony of defeat but the joy of being at the games

Each county was given volunteers to help the team run errands and take care of business, Trinidad was no different as was assigned a crew to help them out. There was one girl named Aziza she was such an amazing person and actually took her own time to take me around and show me the sights and sounds of Toronto when she wasn’t busy with her actual work or working as a volunteer at the games. I got to see a lot of cool places and check out some unique sights in the city, for that I am forever grateful. Not only did I get to see those places but I also made a new friend. When I wasn’t exploring the city or watching matches, when I wasn’t eating in the dining hall or working out at the gym, when not enjoying all the amenities set out for the athletes I would simply be relaxing in my room. At this point Pan Am Games was tournament number 6 for the year and well into the 2016 Olympic qualification period that started May 1, 2015.

I would head back home after Pan Am Games and in about a months’ time fly out again to fly Trinidad’s flag this time at CAREBACO in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. CAREBACO is the regional championships for the Caribbean region. It is hosted yearly and consists of a team event and an individual international event. That meant that I would have some time to train but first would have to leave the athletes village. The day came when my flight back home was scheduled, I packed up all my stuff and swag from the games into 2 suitcases and boarded the bus at the entrance to head to Toronto’s international airport. Thankfully I was just flying back to Calgary so nothing terribly long. With boarding pass in hand and athlete’s accreditation badge still hanging around my neck I boarded my flight back home. I got lots of questions as to my event and how the games went, lots of looks from people as well as lots of requests from people for pictures. My first, and hopefully not my last, Pan Am Games had come to an end and it was time to head back to reality and prepare for the rest of the year. Halfway done already and 5 months into the Olympic Qualification process there as still a lot of work to be done.

2015 Canada Open Grand Prix

So because I choose to go to Mauritius I decided to skip the US Open this year which is a tournament I have attended for the past 5 consecutive years. This meant that after coming back from Mauritius I had just a week to prepare for the 2015 Canada Open which would be in my home city of Calgary, Alberta. That was a nice change meaning that I wouldn’t have to fly anywhere, or stay in a hotel, I would be at home. The venue for the tournament would be up at Canada Olympic Park in the Markin MacPhail center where the hockey arenas are located. Over the past few years the tournament was held in Vancouver notably at the Richmond Olympic Oval (home of the 2010 winter Olympics) and then moved over to the UBC Thunderbird arena for one year before getting moved to Calgary. This time Jeff Bell, Badminton Alberta’s director and my boss would be in charge of setting up and he did a fantastic job on the arena turning it into a world class venue for badminton. Another major perk was that Lee Chong Wei would be coming to participate due to his ban for 8 months and being in need of points.

Canada Olympic Park

Tournament Venue

The draws were released and I had a tough one right off the bat. The previous edition of the tournament in 2014 I made it to the 2^nd round and lost to a player from Korea. This year I would play a player from China named Huang Yuxiang first round. I wasn’t afraid and was excited to go out there and give it my all, especially with having everybody there to watch me. This meant getting some practice time at the facility first though. So I was able to get some court time with a Lithuanian player and a Jamaican player who would both end up becoming great friends. So we got to practice 2 days in a row at the facility which helped and I felt really solid playing there.

Practicing with Lithuania and Jamaica

Japan and Chinese Taipei practicing 

The facility was is located on the opposite side of the city from where I am but my dad decided to come watch me play which was really nice. My mom had the opportunity back in March to watch me win my first national title at the Trinidad and Tobago National Championships so maybe having my dad come watch me for the first time would be good luck. The tournament got underway and my match was one of the first one up unfortunately. The reason to that was because it meant not a lot of people would be off work in time to come watch but there was a decent amount of people in the arena. My match was called and as a first I had Kamasha Robertson umpire my match, she is a player/umpire from Trinidad and Tobago so that was different having her umpire my game at Canada Open. The match started and I had my coach Ardy Wiranata sitting behind my court, my dad in the stands as well as kids that I coach and their parents all watching me. That match was one of the toughest I have ever played. The caliber of this Chinese player was miles above me, I wasn’t able to move him as easily and winning at the net proved to be a lot tougher than I previously anticipated it to be. In the end the score was low a mean 3-21, 7-21 but the quality of the game was different.

Ardy talked with me quickly and then I saw my dad before he left, I was going to stay and watch some more matches because a lot of my friends still had to play and so did Lee Chong Wei. There were some good matches on for the rest of the night and a few upsets happened through the tournament. Canada Open was the last tournament I would play before heading off to Pan Am Games beginning of July. That being said I was incredibly busy coaching and would not have much time to watch the rest of the tournament. I went to see the semifinals on the Saturday evening after coaching which turned out to be pretty good but ultimately that was the Canada open for me. A quick match against China and early exit in front of a home crowd, no second round like at the 2014 edition of Canada Open where I beat a Canadian player and then lost to a Korean.

So that was a very quick entry not much else to say, I didn’t have to travel to an international for once in my life, I got to stay at home in my own bed, eat my own food and be in my own city. It was quite the different experience but I did enjoy it. Well it was back to the grind come the Monday morning, only a week until I would leave again and I had to coach an all-day badminton camp as well which would cut into training times. Next stop though, Pan Am Games…the biggest tournament I would play to date. 

Always focused on the task at hand...and damn those quads

2015 Mauritius International

Off to Africa I was going, well an island off the coast of the African continent but it still counts and falls under being in Africa. The 2015 Mauritius International was taking place June 11-14^th (those dates would slightly change later). This would count as an Olympic qualifying event, any international tournament between May 1, 2015 and May 1, 2016 would count towards the 2016 Olympic qualifications. This was my second tournament I’d be playing of Olympic qualifications and I had to play 2^nd seed Kevin Cordon of Guatemala first round. Not the best draw for flying all the way across the world for a tournament but anything is possible. So the flight to Mauritius wasn’t anything that I haven’t done before, 12 hours from Paris was about the same as going to Hong Kong from Vancouver or Korea from LA. The flight was smooth and landing in Mauritius was a nice sight, seeing the tropical island appear out of the otherwise desolate ocean. Upon arrival went through customs and then began the journey of being picked up and heading to the hotel.

Quite the sight to see

There turned out to be a small complication when we arrived in the city of the tournament, only 40 minutes away from the airport on the other side of the island. The tournament hotel that the tournament organizers had booked players in was full. I arrived with a few other people for the tournament, a girl from Finland, and 3 Turkish players plus their coach. None of us had a room in the hotel we were promised so the association gave us the run around and brought us to another hotel which would house players at the same tournament rate and provide the same services (meals included). This place wasn’t any resort looking area and was smack dab in the middle of a residential (neighbourhood) surrounded by houses for blocks around. There was nothing available for the tournament at that time, no practice times or bus schedule to the hall so the day I arrived was a write off and I was more than happy to relax and fight off any jet lag.

My wonderful hotel

And its slightly sketchy looking pool

The next day rolled around and we were told that there were practice times available for early that afternoon. At that time some other players had come into the hotel, a guy from Hungary and a team from South Africa. Not to mention at the same time as our badminton tournament there was a football tournament so there was a lot of teams staying at almost every hotel in the city at that time. So I went to the hall and was able to have a hit with the Hungarian player for about an hour on the courts. The hall in Mauritius was nice as it was the national badminton center. 14 courts but only about half of them had mats on them the others were simply a sort of rubber hard floor that while provided grip was very hard on the knees. After the session I was able to have another quick hit with a player from India and then called it a day heading back to the hotel.

Tournament Hall

The nice part about the hotel was the meals were included in the price so upon arrival we got lunch and then had a few hours to kill before the managers meeting that very evening. The team managers meeting is something that I attend every tournament I go to usually because I am the only Trinidad athlete present so I have to go. This one was no different only that it was single handed the longest managers meeting I have ever been to…and I didn’t even stay for the whole thing. This is where an interesting predicament arose. The tournament was originally June 11-14 with qualification events being on the 10^th. The 14^th was Sunday and there was a government election taking place that same day. By law on the day of elections it is illegal to have a public gathering of people so that meant that it would be against the law to have the finals for the tournament on that day. The tournament organizers had only found that out about 2 weeks before the tournament, long after everyone had booked their flights and everything to come so they couldn’t cancel the tournament. This meant that the tournament would now happen over June 11-13^th… only 3 days. There was 1 round of singles the first day, 2 rounds the following day and then on the Saturday semi-finals in the morning and finals in the evening. 

So the tournament started that night with qualification events, 3 rounds of it. The following day around noon I played my match against 2^nd seed Kevin Cordon of Guatemala. I set up my gopro to record it but the modes got switched and it just ended up taking a picture every 10 seconds for the entire duration of the match. So that was my unfortunate mishap and I was kind of disappointed at that fact. The match on the other hand went well, a lot better than expected. I was able to win points, the major reason that I lost points were primarily unforced errors. Don’t get me wrong Kevin is a beast on court and he is able to change the pace as well as has a cannon of a smash. All in all it was a long way to fly to play another Pan Am player but I and Kevin finally had our match 2 years later than it was scheduled. In 2013 I was to play Kevin 2^nd round at the 2013 Tahiti International Challenge but that is when he blew out his knee the week before in Peru and I played another played 2^nd round making it to quarterfinals of an International Challenge.

I was out of the tournament just like that, meaning I had another 4 days left in the country to enjoy and relax as well as celebrate my birthday. Friday rolled around and what did I do but sleep in till 4pm, my body was destroyed by jet lag and I didn’t want to do anything that day at all other than sleep. Essentially Friday was a write off. Saturday rolled around and I slept in again but this time I got up and went into the town to explore and see what was what. I was planning to take a boat trip to a remote island and enjoy the beach, etc on Sunday since it was my birthday but then after looking through everything I realized that it wouldn’t be as much fun to go alone. Instead when Sunday rolled around I got up nice and early and went to a place called Flic-en-Flac beach which is a famous destination in Mauritius and a very beautiful beach. I spent a solid 5 hours at the beach doing a multitude of things from swimming, reading, running, and sun tanning (yes even I can tan and look better with a tan). Spending my birthday on the beach of a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa turned out to be pretty sweet after all. The day came to an end, the hotel provided all the meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) so they knew it was my birthday and cooked me a special birthday meal even with a dessert surprise. The next day I would catch my flight back home in the night, the long journey to France and then to Calgary.

The wonderful beach where I spent my day

Everyone needs a shirtless beach picture

I woke up the following morning and finished packing, ate some food and then went to check out the big shopping mall that was across the highway from the hotel. There wasn’t really much present in terms of shops just random places and no souvenir shops, which was quite a surprise because even in town itself I had a hard time trying to find souvenirs. After that had my last dinner at the hotel and it was a kind of bittersweet ending to the tournament. The van came and picked me up, there was other player from an African Country who was also leaving that night. We drove to the airport and then the long trip home would begin with a 12 hour flight from Mauritius to Paris, a layover and then another long haul flight home to Calgary. Overall I felt good playing in Mauritius, the big moment was when I was sitting in the airport in Paris and got the final confirmation that I was attending the 2015 Pan Am games to represent Trinidad and Tobago in badminton. That made the trip all the more sweet but meant I would only have 3 weeks to finish my preparations for that. Knocking 2 continents off the list, getting to see 3 countries and some amazing sights/architecture as well as got a tournament in I’d say that the trip was well worth it and quite a success. But first up would be the 2015 Canada Open which would be in my home city of Calgary, Alberta just a week after my arrival back from Mauritius. 

My plane back to Paris, France

Life of an Average Athlete: In my Shoes

Life of an Average Athlete: In my Shoes

By no means am I the best in the world, nor am I the worst. I fall somewhere into the middle, don’t get me wrong I am not putting myself down by saying that at all. I’m simply just stating what it is and where I stand. Regardless of my skill level every day I strive to be the best that I can be on court and make it to the top. To improve my skills and not let anything stand in my way, the determination of wanting to succeed drives me forward. Being an athlete is one of the unique experiences in life, the ability to perform in a sport and be able travel the world while at it. This is something that I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do and would not trade it for anything.

The Beginning

I was granted a late start at badminton, starting training at 18 years old with the Alberta Elite program that ran 2 times a week. Through my friends and also under the guidance of my coaches I fell in love with the sport and at that point decided that I wanted to see how far I could get. I knew that I had started very late and that it might be impossible to even compete at a high level but that didn’t discourage me. I actually never even thought about competing at the international level at all until much later on. At first it was all just about enjoying the game and playing the local junior tournaments. That soon turned into playing the senior tournaments and nationals. Not too long after that all I did was eat, sleep, and breathe badminton. It was my life and that would not change for the foreseeable future no matter what came my way.

2015 Canada Open, Men's Singles against China. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Yeung)

My mom was the one who first planted the idea in my head, it started with her asking if Trinidad had a badminton team. That was all it took and before long I was in contact with the former national coach and then with the current coach and other players. Just like that I found myself on a flight down to my other home to play some badminton against the countries players. I arrived and met one of the most influential people in my career, Anil Seepaul. Anil was a 5 time national singles champion as well as having many other doubles and mixed titles to his name. His club was called CRISTARS and little did I know that it would so become my club to. I spent almost 6 months in Trinidad at that time, taking a semester off of school. I got my passport which would allow me to compete internationally representing Trinidad on the world stage, then it happened. I played my first international tournament of my life. October 2008 Anil and I flew off to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico International. That was the start of my career as a professional athlete. I had the pleasure of playing Anil in the finals and winning my first national singles title in the 2015 Trinidad nationals. I still have and will always have a great amount of respect for him as well as am extremely thankful for all he has done.

Winning my 1st men's singles national title, and 2nd place in both doubles and mixed

Over the years my passion and dedication for the sport grew, going to training camps in China multiple times and competing more and more around the world. Soon enough I discovered the big games, the type of tournaments/events that happen once every 4 years. Most notable on that list is the Olympics but also there are The Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games, and CAC (Central America and Caribbean games) all of which are once every 4 years multisport mini Olympic style events. For any athlete the opportunity to represent ones country at one of those events is a defining moment in their life. At that moment I knew what I wanted to do and what my goals were, maybe not so much the Olympics but something much more easily attainable, to represent Trinidad and Tobago at one of those 4 year major events.

Daily life

Now one knows that as an athlete you need to practice constantly to get to the high level as well as maintain ones skill. It started off with me just training 2 days a week on court for 2 hours each time but that quickly grew into what it is today at 6-7 days a week anywhere from 2-5 hours a day on court (the odd time more than that). On top of that there is fitness and weight training that also takes place so tack on another 1-2 hours a day. Upon that realization one quickly comes to the understanding that the majority of the day is dedicated to training and does not leave much time for other pleasures in life. Couple that with the 6 years of university I did to hammer out 3 degrees and the nightly coaching that I also do, my days pretty much are done before they start.

Who doesn't like doing multi shuttle

The love and passion was there and still is that I will gladly spend my days doing what I need to do in order to try my best to improve my game. That being said there is a lot of sacrifice to be made, this all coming from somebody who isn’t even top 200 in the world yet. I will always make time for those who are important for me and I hate to go months without seeing my closest friends. Usually that’s what ends up happening however, with all the traveling and jam packed schedules it makes planning and seeing people hard.  It’s a double edge sword because sometimes when I do finally have free time I simply don’t want to go out and do things or see people, I just want to enjoy those few hours to myself and do nothing. So I do apologize to all my friends that I see once in a while, but at the same time I thank them so much for all the support and motivation they constantly provide me to keep pushing forward.

Moving back to Calgary from Vancouver, saying goodbye to my training partners and great coach Darryl (Left)

There are many days that I wake up and just don’t want to go train, I don’t want to step on court and hit a shuttle, don’t want to do footwork or weights. But in the end my passion for it gets me up and down to the courts. No matter how sore my body is, no matter how much my legs don’t want to move. Regardless if its -30 outside, pouring rain, or a perfectly sunny day best spent outside I will be at training doing what I do. “Where there’s a will there’s a way” those are the words/saying I live by. This is also why I have it tattooed on my body because it is my motto, my burning desire that keeps me going every day.

有志者事竟成, "Where there's a will, there's a way" direct translation is a person with determination will succeed 

Am I really Traveling?

Sometimes I get to experience some amazing moments and see beautiful things around the world, spending a few days in a country and actually seeing sights as well as experiencing the culture. Other times all I see is the airport, tournament venue, and the hotel. From spending a full week in places such as Vietnam, Japan, New Zealand, French Polynesia (Tahiti) and others to the complete flip side. In some instances I’ve spent less than 72 hours in a country from the time I landed to time I took off. On average I spend 4-5 days in a place I go, however most of those days are usually taken up by practice and the tournament.

In Tahiti, French Polynesia for a tournament

The last time that I actually traveled on a plane without my badminton racquets for a vacation was pre 2008. Since 2008 (7 years to date of writing) I haven’t actually taken a vacation or traveled for “pleasure”, every time I travel it is for badminton and I carry my racquets with me. At this present moment in life it is a foreign feeling to travel for a vacation, I have a hard time justifying it when I could be spending that money and attending a tournament. That being said I have been to places like Peru 4 times and yet to see Machu Pichuu, one day I’m sure I will make that trip as well as many others to see things I want to. A lot of the time I travel alone which while can be nice it is well rather lonely, not always having people there to share in the experiences and witness some amazing sights can be a downer (I have had the opportunity to travel with some amazing people too though). Don’t get me wrong I love traveling and am happy to experience all that I have and see all I have seen.

India, Trinidad and Tobago, France

Trinidad and Tobago team in Venezuela

I swear that I sometimes spend more time outside of Calgary traveling than I do in the city some years. But the sad truth is that the 12+ hour flights now feel like nothing and all the shorter ones are just as easy as getting up and heading to training at this point. The long haul flights give me time to myself and to relax for a change while jetting across the globe. Its funny cause to me anything under 5 hours of flying doesn’t feel like traveling anymore as I’m so use to going transatlantic or transpacific at this point. While the excitement might not be as profound and hit me hard anymore I still do get excited to fly and travel the world. I love jumping on a large plane and setting off on a new adventure. Flying and being on a giant plane will always have me excited at heart, I love flying on the A380’s now and who can resist business/executive class upgrades.

Just some of the airline tickets for my travel in 2014 alone

The Battles in my Head

It goes without being said that my head can be a battleground at times constant conflicting points of view and opinions flying around. “Should I stop badminton?”, “You haven’t won an international match in a while”, “How could you blow that, it was your match to win”, “I want to train hard for this”, “I love badminton and this feeling of progressing”, “I’m happy with how I played”, etc. The stuff that goes through my mind can make a complete 180 degree turn depending on what’s happening. So many things influence it and make me think about the path I am on as I grow older.

Getting into the zone during warm up before a match. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Yeung) 

I fully understand that this can’t go on forever and there will be a time to stop and get on with life, join the real world as I so often joke about it with everybody. I will try and prolong it as long as I can, only having won a handful of international matches around the world one would think it is crazy that I still continue to play. I enjoy it too much to just stop though and even if I was at the very bottom of the world rankings I would still enjoy it all the same. The war with continue on for a few more years at least, there’s much more that I have to learn as well as want to learn.

The Hard Truth

I have been given so many opportunities through badminton, first and foremost I have traveled the world. How many people can say they have seen at least 50 countries before they were 25 years old? And I still have a few more years before I’m 30 to increase that number and to keep going to try and see as much of the world as I can in my lifetime. That aside I know I am not the top in the world and chances are I never will be, that is not me giving up from trying (I will always train to be the best) that is just a realistic look at things. The facts are there and I can see the facts, if I stated earlier maybe things would have been different or maybe they wouldn’t, maybe I would be worse or would have given it up already. I fall somewhere in the middle of it all, I love the sport too much to quit despite my win/loss ratio.

The collection of accreditation badges grows every year

In reality I will continue with it and eventually will fade out of competing professionally, there are still a few more goals I have to accomplish first. Attending one of those every 4 years games (maybe not the Olympics but hey I will try to say at least I tried to qualify). Playing in a super series event, even if just in the qualification draw although I’d like to make it into the maindraw. To qualify for a world championship would be an amazing opportunity but we will see what happens with that. For now I have my list and will work towards it over the few years I have left. I have been able to check off a few, a national title, win an international match, reach top 250 in the world, now I just need to keep setting the bar higher and setting new goals to go for.

Pan Am Championships, the yearly badminton championships

My body and mind are good for now but I know they will only hold out for so much longer. In that time I will experience as much of this part of my life as I can. It’s not every day you get to say you are a professional athlete who travels the world for a living. I thank all my coaches that I have had as well as all my sparing partners locally and around the world for their contributions to my game and career. Also everybody (friends, family, fans, etc) who support me through the highs and lows of my career, thank you for sticking around when I’m happy from a win or depressed from a loss. That’s my life, in my shoes and through my eyes at least, so I thank you for reading and getting this small glimpse into my life and thoughts as an athlete. 

Paris 2015

Had to get a shot with the Eiffel Tower

This is a different sort of entry because it is not about a tournament but not about a vacation. It is about a layover on the way to a tournament, a lucky event to say the least. So I was traveling to Mauritius (a country next to Madagascar off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean) for a Tournament and was just so lucky to have an 11 hour layover in Paris, France. As soon as I saw that when booking my eyes lit up, I have never set foot on the European continent before and this was my chance. I would get to see Paris of all places the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and so many other notable and famous monuments. So the time came and I left Calgary heading to Amsterdam first then towards Paris where I would have my time to see the amazing city. I landed in Paris, France around 12:20pm on Tuesday June 9, 2015 and that’s when the adventure and race against time started.

Before landing I had done my research the days prior to flying out as I knew that there was a lot that could go wrong. I could be delayed, transportation times, as well as when I had to be back at the airport to catch my connecting flight to Mauritius. So I planned everything out and ended up taking the bus into the city which would drop me off right in front of the Arc du Triomphe. It only took about 45-50 minutes as there was a bit of midday traffic and one other stop first but that was fine, well within my budgeted time limit. The first thing I saw was the Arc du Triomphe, this has some significance as I am a huge history buff and enjoyed learning all about world war I and II back in high school. So to see the Arc was amazing, just to be in Paris alone didn’t even sink in at all yet. After bumming around there checking out the area and taking pictures of course I made my way to the next landmark. This one was a lot more famous and world renowned when you think of France.

The Eiffel Tower in the flesh…alright in the metal. It was a truly amazing sight to see this tower not because of its height or anything, it’s actually rather small, but because of the fame of it. The tower did not disappoint at all and captivated my gaze the whole time the entire atmosphere of the area. It was so surreal of an experience to be standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, when 12 hours prior I was in Calgary in North America. I took it in but the gravity of where I was never set in even through the whole time and all the sights I saw. I walked right up to the tower and got a close up look. I was doing great for time. So that was 2 big sights down but still a handful more to go. Now came the trek, I had done some walking already but there was more to head over to Notre Dame but see everything else along the way. I walked along the river, La Seine, towards the famous cathedral.

Up close and personal

The river took me past some museums as well as Plaza de la Concorde which connected to the Champs-Elysees and back to the Arc du Triomphe. There was quire the fancy fountain and Egyptian looking structure in the plaza. This was also where the entrance to the Louvre Tuileries started. Walking in it was a huge giant space, an almost garden like area leading up to a palace or in this case museum. I walked across this vast area taking in the statues as well as nature and the sun. Thankfully it was a sunny and warm day as all my plans could have easily been foiled if there was rain. After quite the walk I came up to the Louvre and its famous glass pyramid. The scale of the building caught me off guard and I was enveloped within its walls. I stood and took it in before walking on the outside and back alongside the river. I continued to knock sights off the list and was winding down to the last one. I was doing great for time and not worried as from Notre Dame I could take the train straight to terminal 2 at Charles de la gull airport where I needed to catch my flight.  

The scale of this place blew my mind

Still blowing my mind

Notre Dame Cathedral popped up as I walked to the back of the little island it resides on, I have to say I was a little disappointed from the outside appearance. I don’t really know what I was expecting but I felt a bit of a lackluster experience. Maybe because I had already seen the Eiffel Tower and pretty much everything else is downhill from there. That marked the end of the sightseeing, I had been walking around for a few hours but only walked about 10km in total. I spent time in places to fully take in the atmosphere and gravity of where I was. Not to mention the hour I spent at the Eiffel Tower sitting and watching it as well as having a snack. That meant that all I had left to do was take the train back to the airport and catch my flight to Mauritius for the tournament.

Didn't see Quasimodo though =(

Overall the time spent in Paris was amazing, it was surreal and through the whole time I was there it didn’t hit me where I was. I unfortunately didn’t get to go into any of the monuments, museums, or sights that I went to. The lines were simply too long and would have eaten up all my time. I also just had my cell phone to take pictures with as I opted out of carrying my DSLR with me this trip. One day I know I will return to Paris and France for a lot longer time not just an 11 hour layover. That is when I will do Paris properly and take proper pictures, go into the museums and see them as well as up the Eiffel tower, onto the Arc du Triomphe, and into Notre Dame not to mention visit countless other sites. As I arrived back at the airport and sat at the gate I had a sense of accomplishment, seeing so much in such a short amount of time. I also got to cross Europe off the list of continents that I have been to. That would just leave Africa and Antarctica, one of which I would be visiting after a quick 12 hour flight, but that’s another entry. 

I love flying on big planes, especially business/executive class