Smash hard but stay calm

Back in the day all children played either Cricket or Badminton, at least in the town where I come from. And since I was always the first to enter the play field near my house and the last one to leave we played Badminton whenever there was dearth of people or place to play Cricket. This was the scene more or less everywhere in North India and Badminton had (at least) as much reach as cricket - considering that women, office workers and oldies preferred it as their first choice. I grew out of Cricket relatively soon and so Badminton is the game that has stayed with me since childhood.

Just like ping pong it's a safe social game that can be played across age, gender and cultural differences. Plus it needs minimal equipment & ground area and yet can offer deep tactical, agile, energetic engagement when played with discipline. So I've remained a fan of the sport and sportspeople.

China and Malaysia dominate the international rankings in men's Badminton and funnily China's got Chen Long in Badi like Ma Long in ping pong. Although Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei has the crown, China has a more formidable presence in world rankings. Here's a steaming match between the world's top two.

LCW's cool

I somehow like women's Badminton more than men's. And I'm a huge fan of Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon. Currently she's at WR 7 while China's Li Xuerui leads the race. In Intanon I see the same human pursuit that I see in Rafa Nadal, and moreover she's the youngest world champion ever. Here's one of my favourite matches - the 2013 match in which Intanon defeated Li Xuerui.

Ratchanok against the mighty Li

Now I've learnt a lot playing Badminton. The most important things are balance, patience, mindfulness and consistency. Lose the point but not the mind, and wait for the moment. Many beginners do it all wrong trying to hit hard and low - the same shot - all the time. Thinking of which I feel I've a lot to cover too, and I'll keep this section updated with how i do.