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Author	Topic: Badminton
Innror Registered: Jun '00	Date Posted: 12/19/00 5:52am Subject: RE: Badminton
	it's actually true. He looks like a 15-year old
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 12/20/00 3:12am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Well, that's true...
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 1/27/01 3:32am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Just bringing this up if there are any more badminton fans around...
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 4/8/01 5:03pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	And again... it's been 3 months already... Waiting for my birthday
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/4/01 8:42pm Subject: RE: Badminton - Swoosh - Date Edited: 5/15/01 2:39am (1 edits total) Edited By: Son of the Suns
	This is an essay I wrote, dedicated to my 2 favourite men's doubles badminton players: Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen. The background of the entire essay is completely fictional (Denmark has never won the Thomas Cup at present, and their semi-final was against Indonesia, not China), but the essay itself is based on these 2 fantastic players' second doubles semi-final match against Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto of Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2000. They fought so hard to win that match for Denmark, but in the end they didn't qualify for the finals because Kenneth Jonassen lost his match, although if they had won Indonesia they would certainly win China in the finals. The papers said nothing more than they had an upset victory, but to me they had put in so much pure effort, and this essay is to recognise all the hard work they did. I hope you all enjoy it! _____________________________________________ Swoosh Swoosh. Swifter than he could react. Another point against him. Jens Eriksen reminded himself once again, as he had previously done so countless times, not to tense up, not to start making mistakes, not to squander the opportunities his playing partner provided for him. They were down 5-10 in this second set of the second doubles of the Thomas Cup badminton championships, having lost the first set 8-15. Jens didn’t want to think of it – the score could easily have been much worse. Perhaps a much more ugly-sounding 4-15. Jens preferred playing in the first doubles. The pressure was less, much less than he was currently subjected to here, what he normally was used to. But in the previous few weeks the pair’s world ranking had dropped a few rungs, and although they were better than their doubles teammates, they had no choice but to play in this taxing second doubles, as the rules of the tournament strictly stated that the country line-up would be determined by their world rankings. Jens prepared himself for their opponent’s next serve. Off it went, lightly, yet crossing over the net neatly. Jens wasted no time responding. A lift, then a smash in return, a defensive clear, another smash, an attacking clear…on and on it went. Then Jens saw the perfect opportunity. A light smash, his racket coming barely about 1 cm to the net, but just not touching, and the shuttle went at a 20 degrees angle to the net and right down to the green flooring. A light smile curved across his lips. Then he saw the umpire gesturing towards him, and his heart lurched. “Your racket touched the net. It’s a fault,” the umpire coolly said. 5-11. Jens stared blankly at the umpire for a moment, then turned his head to look at the linesman. The linesman paused for a moment, then indicated that he did not think that it had been a fault. Jens looked into the eyes of his playing partner, Jesper Larsen, and saw the same look of pain on his face. He cringed, and Jesper knew immediately what he was thinking. Jens made out Jesper mouthing the words, “Don’t ask for a let”, but he knew in his heart that Jesper wanted exactly the contrary. The irony of the situation stung him – Jesper usually was so vocal during a match, arguing for every single point he felt should have been theirs, while he stood by watching, yet now it was he himself who wanted to ask for the point back. Unable to bear the pain, he turned to the umpire and asked for a let. The umpire kept silent for a moment, then relented, saying, “All right. Since the linesman says so, and I’m not that sure that it was a fault.” Jens gratefully accepted it. One point saved, but how many more could they save? He saw the grit in Jesper’s face, and looked at their opponents. Young, talented…world champions. Once Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen had been world no 1’s, Olympic champions, world champions, and much more. They had been together professionally for twenty years, ever since they played in their first tournament at the tender age of fourteen. Then, two decades ago, people had recognised the immense talent they had, and said that they would one day rule the roost. They hadn’t been wrong. They had played for their country numerous times, ten consecutive times at the Thomas Cup. They had watched as their country’s most talented and gifted youngsters blossomed and helped them to victory in the Thomas Cup. All these twenty years, Denmark and Indonesia had been the two badminton superpowers in the world, making it to the finals of the biennial Thomas Cup ten consecutive times, with Jens and Jesper leading the team in later years. But nothing could stop the passage of time, even for the most talented players in the world. Nothing could hide the fact that one day they would grow old – as they were now. They were encountering difficulties getting into the finals. If they lost this match against China, twenty years of continuous competition would come to an end, be no more than a chapter in the annals of history. Jens gave Jesper a little smile, hoping that it would give Jesper the confidence to recover the points needed. They couldn’t lose this match. They wouldn’t. Or at least they hoped that way. Two games down to one – the country that won three matches first would get into the finals. They had to win this match – and pray that their last singles player would win this semi-final for Denmark. 5-10. Rally after rally came. They won some points, they lost some points. 12-14. Match point. No, they couldn’t lose, not now when they had fought back so hard. They couldn’t afford to be careless and let their opponents get the match point. They fought hard, yet carefully. Jesper, putting in all his effort to attack from the back while keeping his defence strong; Jens trying not to leave any loopholes while attacking. Finally, their hard work paid off, but they could not afford to rest yet. 14-all. Deuce. Yet it was an easier road for them after this, winning the set 17-15 eventually. Now for the rubber. Jesper hit a hard smash to earn the first point of the set, boosting his confidence. Then he lost the service, and their opponents equalised. However, after that, Jens and Jesper had an amazing streak of 8 consecutive points without even losing their service at all. 9-1. Yes! We’re going to win! they thought in tandem. They happily turned back to show their thanks and appreciation to their loyal fans who had cheered them on throughout the match, even when it seemed apparent that they were sure to lose. As they were about to turn back and concentrate on finishing up the match soon, they saw Camilla and Peter, the golden couple on their team, mouth to them playfully, “If you blast your 8-point lead I am going to murder you!” They grinned right back, their confidence starting to grow. Perhaps it was no more than a coincidence. Perhaps they let their concentration falter for the moment, as they were less afraid of losing now. Or perhaps their opponents had decided to mount a decisive fightback. Yet Camilla and Peter’s words proved almost to predict the future. Jens and Jesper could only watch, stunned, as they squandered their 8-point lead. Oh no. It was back to fighting, fighting to get into the finals. For after all they were their country’s most experienced players, and if anybody were to be the ones to inspire a fightback it would naturally be them. 9-10. They were on the losing side again. 9-11. 10-11. 11-all. 11-12. 11-13. 12-13… and all of a sudden they were at 15-16. No. Not again… they could not afford to let their opponents win the match. They had admittedly squandered their 8-point lead, but they would not lose the match. Stroke after stroke, played with the utmost caution and precision, knowing that their training had paid off. No! Yes!! Jesper had saved the rally with a marvellous save, and Jens hit down the winner. 16-all. If we win this we win. Then the shuttle came, faster than Jens and Jesper could react. Service over. All of a sudden Jens and Jesper seemed to be faced with an insurmountable task. How, just how were they going to fight for their service back? More careful playing. Phew. Second service for their opponents now. This was it – if they earned their service back they knew they could win the match. But if they did not… Jesper shook his head. He did not want to think of it. All he wanted was to concentrate. Smash! Defensive clear. Net. Drop. Lift. On it went, almost like a dance, only it was far more intense than that. Jesper saw his chance. Right at the flank, yes, but it required so much precision not to hit it wrongly. It was his weak point, he knew, his smash on the flank attacks. Yet he was willing to risk it. In that one moment when Jesper hit the shuttlecock, time seemed to stretch on forever. Right after the shuttlecock bounced off the strings of his racket, Jesper blinked his eyes for a brief moment. The shuttlecock was all of a sudden horrifyingly fast – and he couldn’t tell whether it would be in or out, which was normally his speciality – he being famed for knowing exactly when to take and when not to return the shuttlecock. Their Chinese opponents seemed equally shell-shocked at the tactic used. In or out? In or out? If it was out, they shouldn’t take it. But they had no idea either. Automatically they reached for the shuttle without even thinking of not taking it. Yet the shuttle moved too fast for them to reach it…hit the green flooring…and bounced outwards. Jesper hadn’t seen at all whether it had been in or out. He was too scared to find out, all he knew was that his opponents had not been able to reach it. It all mattered now on his precision. He hoped that he had not let down all their loyal supporters, his teammates, and all the other people who wished so much for them to succeed. But that was not all. For this tournament would be both his and Jens’ swansong. They were old, they knew, in comparison to the age of most of the players. It was time they hung up their rackets as players. Perhaps they would be coaches in future. Yes, that seemed most likely. Or perhaps they would work in other jobs. He didn’t know. All he knew at that moment was that they were the defending Thomas Cup champions, two years ago they had fought oh so hard to win the Thomas Cup, and Jesper was reluctant to give it up, reluctant to retire without having the Thomas Cup with their country. He knew Jens felt exactly the same way, having knowing him for over twenty years. Then he heard the umpire say “Service over, 16-all.” A wave of relief washed over him, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief. He looked at Jens, who told him, “It was right on the line. Almost out, but right on the line. Our luck.” He reciprocated the slight smile Jens gave him. Time to serve. They wouldn’t lose this match. It seemed almost like an anti-climax. Their Chinese opponents were clearly worried, and hurriedly hit the shuttle back without much caution, landing it into the net. They had won, yes, Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen, former world no. 1’s, Olympic champions and world champions, had won the current world champions. Jesper turned back to Jens and hugged him tight, his partner throughout these twenty years who had stuck with him through all the good times and bad times. They had not let their country down after all. Then they hurried towards the team bench as they received the thanks of their teammates and their coach. “I won’t murder you, Jens, Jesper,” Camilla said to them with a slight touch of sarcasm. “Seriously, you all really lived up to your reputation of having been the best pair in the world.” They smiled. This meant so much to them, although Camilla might not completely realise it. Kenneth, their last singles player approached them. “Thanks for that. I’ll try not to let you all down…coz you all fought so hard, I know…I saw it in your eyes, how much pure effort you put into winning,” he said. “Time to go on court now.” Jens and Jesper looked into his eyes. They sparkled with a brightness that told them how much he also wanted to win, yet both of them knew that Kenneth was actually not that sure of himself, rather he was telling himself to fight hard not to let them down. The last singles match started well for Kenneth, but his opponent was tricky also. The score climbed rapidly, both players hardly ever being more than 2 points apart. Kenneth reached 14 points first, but his opponent was right at his heels with 13. Please Ken, round up the set, Jens thought to himself, as though he was speaking to Kenneth telepathically. Almost! But no, instead the Chinese opponent smashed down a shot to level the score at deuce. “3 more points to play now,” Jesper spoke softly. It seemed so natural that the entire team gave gasps of surprise to hear the umpire say “Game not set.” “What the –?” Peter said. He was standing next to both of them, their first singles player who had won his match. “Why didn’t he set the game? It’s so risky for him now!” But all the team could do was shake their heads and hope for the best. Peter’s words proved to come out right, as Kenneth eventually lost the set. He looked at his teammates with an expression of sorrow, at Peter who was wildly gesturing at him to ask him why he had done so, at Jens and Jesper who looked as though they would break down into tears any moment if he lost… and he wondered what exactly he had done. He had to win; he just had to… However, it was not as easy as just having the will to fight for a win. Kenneth found himself behind soon, and almost before he could pause to really catch his breath and comprehend the situation completely, he was down 8-14. Match point, and he was going to lose this match and let all of them down. He couldn’t – but was he capable of fighting back the way Jens and Jesper had done so bravely? He did not know, and he felt so lost. Yet when he looked at the team bench his teammates responded back so calmly, an expression of “we don’t blame you, no matter what” on their faces. No, he had to fight back for their sake. 8-14. He had to fight back for his service, and he managed successfully to do so. Then, with the will to fight back, his score climbed all the way to 13-14 without losing serve. He had to get to deuce. If he lost his service right now, he was certain there was no way he could win the game. Attack. Attack. Attack. Don’t let him smash at you, Jesper thought silently. Kenneth looked like he was almost there, just trying to find that opening to smash down. But then, a tricky net shot…and service over. In that few moments right before the Chinese opponent served, thoughts flashed through Jens’ mind. What if we don’t win? We’re not going to win… He clasped Jesper’s hand tightly and shot a quick look at him. We’ve been together for twenty years, but that might all come to an end now, the look said. Jesper responded with a similar look, and they both braced themselves for a loss even then unknowingly. Kenneth took every shot with the utmost caution. He put up a strong defence, lifting the shots or using defensive clears. But it was clear that he would not be able to withstand the many attacks unless he found a way to respond in turn soon. The rally seemed to last forever, as Kenneth seemed to find impossible ways to reply to the attacks. Yet nothing could stop the final shot from raining down at him…and falling onto the green flooring. He had lost. And in that moment when the shuttle tumbled down to the floor, bounced twice and landed softly, Jens had a hallowed gleam in his eyes, a gleam that spoke volumes of sadness and fond memories of good times in the past. All the memories came back to his mind – his first tournament with Jesper, the deciding moment when they had won their first tournament, the glory that had come when they won their first Thomas Cup title, the honour of being Olympic and world champions…his beautiful wife Suzanne whom he had married after winning his second Olympic title, now sitting right there behind the team bench, his son Mads who although so young, already was willing to train so intensively and be “as good as Papa”…and time seemed to hang in the air for a moment. This was the end…the beginning of the end. They had faced up against generations of great Indonesian players, and they had won all of them. The two of them had helped build up the most beautiful and memorable badminton team ever. But they had grown old, for nothing could stop the course of time. And the Danish team they led was finally halted in their tracks by China. The curtain slowly fell…on two decades of greatness, as the white cross of innocence on the red background of the Danish flag, the Dannebrog, stopped waving as strongly as it had during the match, and faded away into a flood of tears. Jens saw his very emotions reflected exactly in Jesper. Both were trying desperately to hold back their emotions and tears, to be gracious sportsmen, as they congratulated the Chinese team on their victory and wished them the best of luck for the finals. They did not know that to the entire stadium spectators, they had already been the most gracious sportsmen that could have existed. They did not know that the stadium spectators would have very well have seen them let their tears flow instead of trying to hide them, if only it would take away some of the pain that was so clearly imprinted on their faces. Among the Chinese team and spectators in fact, they murmured softly that Jens and Jesper had deserved to retire with so much more, with the Cup in hand. For they had lived up to every single prediction people had laid out for them, had truly ruled the roost. Every single spectator whom they very willingly signed their autographs for consoled them, even as they gave slight smiles and said that it did not matter. Yet the hallowed gleam never went away from Jens and Jesper’s eyes at least for that night, so heavy, so sad. Because from that moment, all the glory and honour, promises and competition had come to an end. --- To Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen, who will forever be the unofficial world no. 1’s in my heart. Tak, the two of you are the best!
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/4/01 11:47pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	Some of my other threads: Why do our parents love us so much, do so much for us, yet… (…never ask for anything in return?) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=1122839 A Friend So True… http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=1575978 Memories of Childhood http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=2130000 Candle in the Wind http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=1994429 A Collection of Thoughts http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=2130032 To be or not to be, that is the question. http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=2501376
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/5/01 7:36pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	Never mind 1234, nice to know someone read this thread! This is also my 5000th post, I'm now E.P.I.C.!
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/5/01 9:47pm Subject: RE: Badminton - Date Edited: 5/5/01 9:48pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Valiowk
	Check out this for stuff on Danish badminton players, I know it's in Danish and I can't read much of it, but it looks pretty interesting if you can! http://fp.dansk-badminton.dk/Sider/Spillerprofiler/Spillerprofilforsidetekst.htm
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jadesaber2 Registered: Oct '00	Date Posted: 5/5/01 9:51pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	Congrats, Valiowk! I never knew badminton could be such a fun and demanding sport. Then I played a game aginst some of my brother's friends. Man, that game looks easier than it really is! -----signature----- And in [Neil] Cavuto's defense, if you are planning simultaneous tea bagging all around the country, you're going to need a Dick Armey. - David Shuster
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/5/01 9:57pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	I know! It looks like the players have such an easy time replying to some of the strokes sometimes, but when you think about it there's a lot of hard work (running, training) involved, and the footwork is really hard to master! If you're up against someone good you can really look so stupid, although we sometimes don't realise it and laugh when it's shown "live" on TV.
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/7/01 12:10am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Sigh... I wonder what has happened to all the people I met in this thread... Scotch frisky, Chaplin, Innror, son of rage...
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Son of the Suns Title: Administrator Emeritus Registered: May '99	Date Posted: 5/15/01 2:42am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Fixed one of Valiowk's posts, so uppers...
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/16/01 6:26pm Subject: RE: Badminton
	Thanks SotS, sure a lot easier to read now!
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/22/01 5:26am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Uppers, badminton rules!
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Valiowk Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 5/25/01 6:02am Subject: RE: Badminton
	Saving Threads by Son of the Suns Just coz I wanted the link to it here.
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