S A I S A BADMINTON

S A I S A               BADMINTON

I'm more than willing to admit that on our last night in Dhaka after the SAISA Badminton tournament, I was not willing to leave. In fact, the thought of returning to Colombo was not a pleasant one because of the strength of the attachment I formed with my team and to Badminton in general. In fact, the SAISA tournament this year was beyond just a game; it was about the experience of the tournament... and I have to say I could not have asked for a better team to spend my last SAISA tournament with. 

(The extended team)

From the very first day of training to the final day of the tournament, this was a season that demanded our absolute 100% as individuals and also as a team. Our collective efforts and collaboration with each other on the training courts (ranging from coaching each other to learning new skills and improving areas of weakness) paid off on the game days. At the end of the day we returned to Sri Lanka with a 3rd place medal and trophy, claiming a team bronze medal in Dhaka. Individually we excelled as well with the following wins; Athena for girls single (silver), Laurens and Arnold for boys doubles (gold) and Laurens and Rishika for mixed doubles (silver).

But quite honestly, I couldn't care less about the wins. Although I am over the moon that we got a place in the tournament, I value this season because of the team I played with and the experiences that I got to be a part of. So first of all, I need to say thank you to all my team members for being the amazing individuals that they are. Together, we showed the perseverance needed to get a placing in the tournament and commitment not only to each other but to the game by not losing hope in our matches and constantly supporting each other.

So here's the fabulous team who I now consider family :) A huge thank you to all of you for making this the best SAISA ever! 

Arnold, for being the most supportive and frustratingly annoying but awesome guy on the team. 

Ceola, for being a great doubles partner who never gave up and always keeping us entertained. 

Jun Min, for 10 points against Kevin and shaking off your nervousness in the end. 

Laurens, for UNO sessions, taking the time to help us between games and really bad jokes.

Athena, the newbie and resident badass who made it into the championship rounds.

Yannis, for failed backhand smashes, the successful smashes, and our Kinder-egg mania.

Rishika, who moved 3-4 steps per point and still won the most matches out of all of us.

On a very positive note, our team was the one with the most S-pins (for sportsmanship) proving that we were friendly and cheerful both on and off the court. In fact, the Lahore and Dhaka teams can attest to that given the amount of time we spent playing dodgeball in the MPR and goofing around on skype. The people we met and the friendships we made were ones that are going to last a lifetime.

 

(The three main SAISA teams; photos from AISD)

I have just one last point to make before I wrap up the Badminton reflection. As one of the two seniors on the team (the other being Laurens) I believe that this SAISA was the most successful and enjoyable one I've been one. It wouldn't have been half as good without our coaches Mr. Pradeep and Mr. De Silva who coached us till the very and of course Mrs. Raina who was an unbelievably huge source of encouragement throughout all our games.

And finally, best of luck for next year! Hope it's gold :P

GO GECKOS!