Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Are you game?

All right, the bar's getting a little too wedding-y. Hands in the air, everyone, and slowly step away from the mandap. :/

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Eight years ago, a senior at university gave this freshie some good advice.

"Pick up a sport, Sayesha, and be serious about it."

I never really heeded his advice. Most of my university life was spent doing the following:
a) Writing silly poetry
b) Attending Shruthilaya (our music troup) rehearsals
c) Trying to get the damn engineering degree quickly so I could quickly start work as anything but an engineer.

Recently, his words have been coming back to me. I have started taking badminton (the only sport I ever played and enjoyed) more seriously. Though I am not as good at it as I would like to be, I think it's the greatest workout plan ever. The problem with gymming or swimming is that it gets a bit monotonous. With badminton, it's not just a great way to work up a sweat, it's also a lot of fun. Especially the ass-kicking that happens on the courts.

Last year, I used to play badminton with my colleagues at one of the community centres. There was this particular group of retirees who used to play regularly. They were so good that just watching them play would make you wanna yank out your racquet strings and hang yourself with them. And I thought to myself - when I am that old, would I be playing any sport? If yes, I guess it wouldn't be anything but badminton.

Perhaps it's high time I got serious about the game.

Perhaps it's high time I jot down all the things that have been going through my mind at the courts in the last two weekends.

  • You're shaky now but contrary to what you may like to believe, you are not new to the game. You two have met before, so don't feign unfamiliarity.
  • Practise hard. You can beat him. Her. Everyone.
  • You can't serve for nuts. Notice how you get smashed on your serves? Learn how to serve.
  • No excuses. Yes, you have a bad knee. Don't think about it. Till it starts hurting.
  • You don't even know the rules. Learn 'em.
  • Learn from your opponent's game too.
  • Start having fun after you have gotten reasonably good at the game.
  • He uses his height as an advantage, you gotta counter it with agility.
  • Don't be too easy on yourself. Push yourself.
  • Know your weaknesses. Work on them.
  • Know your opponent's weaknesses. Work them.
  • Don't play 'civil'. Not unless the opponent is new to the game.
  • Don't get carried away by how good a workout it is. You must get better with each game.
  • If none of your skills were sharpened, the game was a waste even if you won.
  • Even if you're not the best, at least be good.
  • Never lose your 'shuttle sense' (term courtesy my baddie buddy Nick).
  • Yes, your stamina is low. Don't use that as an excuse. Build it up.
  • Less style, more substance.
  • You can only kick a few asses after you've got your ass royally kicked.
  • Make unpredictability your greatest strength.
And most importantly, there are people out there playing 13 different sports each. Don't stink at the only sport you play. :P



29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me firstttttttt :))))))

m not exactly into baddie..but i feel u shud work out some way or the other..be it a sport or gym or anything..i luvv jogging n gym n also swinging in my local park ( blv me..even thats a workout!!Phew!)

n yeah when i see ppl like my mom being so active at 50+..i jst wonder in gabbar style..mera kya hoga kaaliya?? :P:P

Di said...

silver silver..i looove silver.. :)))

and same pinch..and if i may add..no back pinch.. ;) badminton is the only game i adore too..:D but hardly get to play it.. :((

Di said...

silver silver..i looove silver.. :)))

and same pinch..and if i may add..no back pinch.. ;) badminton is the only game i adore too..:D but hardly get to play it.. :((

fling said...

nice blog here.. just passing by n liked the stuff u write.. id freak out if my in laws read my blog :p

Anonymous said...

I place top again..........
Most of the stuff you wrote applies to life in general. Wah, Bhai ki advice sar ankho par..
next year ke shubh plans mein yeh goals rakhongi ..(though I never manage to keep my resolutions)

Inder said...

true. badminton is a wonderful game. seeing the enemy's face in the shuttle while smashing it - not too many bliss like that exist in this world :P

Anonymous said...

hahaha....I had pet line...
"I love sports...but only the watching part" watching I did wholeheartedly....everything from cricket to tennis to basketball and ice-hockey...courtey ESPN-Star sports :)

Anonymous said...

Come play with us! We need a dynamic, goal oriented, motivated, teamplayer who is willing to learn and whos biggest weakness is that she is 'too sincere'...NOT! :P

Relax yaar..take it easy. Its just a game :)

Cheers
Kais

Anonymous said...

Makes me feel a complete loser!

justme said...

Hi Sayesha...ALL those seem to be exactly my thoughts on sport. I know I dont play good but I am generally enthusiastic about it (though its discouraging at times). Keep giving it a SHOT !

And ya, THANKS for giving us a gift of such a positive blog ! Bhai ko apna salaam !!!

Iday said...

I used to play badminton when i was in school. Lotsa fun :)
The singles games are quite a work-out, provided u play with a good opponent.
The doubles games are awesome fun :D

How do we know said...

Arre.. this is a dhansoo post!

anoop said...

-> concentrate on the serve, 25% of the points can be won by a good serve.
-> mix the deep serve with the fast-low serve, always keep the opponent guessing.
-> cover the court with as few strides as possible, get a better reach with stretching as much as possible.
-> before doing any of the above things, become fit :p

cheers.

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

Some more tips:
--> Shout "Leave it" suddenly when your opponent is about to hit the cork --- no explanations needed.

--> Suddenly start dancing on the court with a full fledged flailing hands and all when the game is at a crunch moment: I assure you nothing distracts better.

--> Get upset, throw a tantrum when you lose... blackmail the 'him' people emotionally and get some confidence on your next game :)

Sayesha said...

#Thisisme,
I used to go to the gym at my old place... but it's getting incredibly boring so switched to badminton :)

#Di,
Find a partner and start playing yaar :)

#Fling,
Welcome to Sayeshaz and thanks for commenting! :)

#Sakshi,
Hahaha! Bhai ki baat maanne se tera bhala hoga! Bhai ka bhi bhala hoga! :D

#Smiling Girl,
Eh? Phir se koi X-rated joke maar rahi hai kya? Samajh mein nahin aaya :(

#Inder,
Hahahahahaha! I know what you mean. Though some of my baddie-buddies think I am cheating when I face-smash them! :P

#Neihal,
Sirf dekho mat... kuchh karke dikhao! Tann ki shakti mann ki shakti Bournvita! :D

#Kais,
Naah! Mommy told me not play with guys like you. :D

//Relax yaar..take it easy. Its just a game :)

That's the problem. We lose out on learning a lot of things because we just "relax" and "take it easy" and think that "it's just a game". I want to relax after I get good at it. :)

#Satish,
Ooops! I will give you the same advice that my senior gave me "Pick up a sport and be serious about it."

#Justme,
Thanks yaar! I write these posts mainly to motivate myself, agar tumhara bhi bhala ho jata hai toh sone pe suhaga! :)

#Iday,
Oh boy, I find even the doubles game quite a workout! :P

#How do we know,
Thanks yaar! :)

#Anoop,
Wow, you sound like a real player... as in sacha khiladi, not like winamp types :P

My serves suck!! Teach me how to serve!!! :'(

All your points are very helpful, though the only one I follow is the last one... gotta work harder! :)

#Sudipta,
Hahahahahahah! Great tips, Sudipta! Sometimes I do use the 'blackmail' bit! ;)

Sneha said...

ohhhh i missed all the wedding news when i was on my trip!!

woah!!!!! congrats congrats :)
btw, 2007 is a great year!! best of luck!!

Harsha said...

And this is one thing I've learnt....no matter how far the shuttle-cock is falling ......even if it looks impossible to pick up......if you run towards it and make an attempt 8 outta 10, u'll pass it to the other side. just gotta believe in urself....important thing is to make the attempt. :)

And congratulations on the wedding :)

Priya said...

hey! been a long time since i've commented anything on ur blog :) and wat do i find? sayesha's getting married!!! im still not outta it! congratulations girl!!!! im so happy for u! :D

..p..

Anonymous said...

well makes me want to grab a racquet, and start playing. But I guess I should at least stick onto my jogging first, than spend the early hours sleeping.

anoop said...

firstly, before me disposing of anymore advice about badminton, I declare that i'm just average at this game. :p

serve: the stance should be the same while doing the deep serve and the fast-low serve, absoloutely no clue should be given to the opponent on this. the position while serving would be somewhere halfway in the serving box nearer to the middle line, from where it should be possible to cover all the angles into the opponents court. And ofcourse there are this smaller nuances like where to do the fast-low serve, away from the opponent or directly on to their body. the same goes for the deep serve, where, you let the serve climb out of reach of the opponent and drop deep or attain a dizzying height, which by the time comes to the opponent may possible dis-orrient them. :)

winamp types :-?

Angelsera said...

hmm I m not a one sport person..I m not a sports person at all.
I suck at every sport I tried, and no one sticks ard long enuf to teach and play w me till i get better :(
So I stick to things I can do w/o needing others, like cycling or swimming, dancing (my fav :D)

Sayesha said...

#Sneha,
Thanks :)

#Harsha,
I totally agree with that tip! I used to let all of them go, but with some effort I have managed to get about half of them :)
ps: Thanks :)

#Priya,
OMG is that you?? I thought you disappeared into the bloggers' black hole! Welcome back!! :) And thanks! :)

#Anoop,
Err... I gotta look up on what is a deep serve and what is a fast-low serve first :P
ps: You see? I know nothing! :|

//winamp types :-?

Oops sorry, that was a bad joke! :P I called you 'real player' remember? That's how the winamp joke came about. Sorry again! :$

#Angelsera,
Hehehe... I used to be like you - a loner in my workouts, till I discovered the joys of cycling in a group and getting my ass kicked at badminton every weekend :)

Anonymous said...

>> Naah! Mommy told me not play
>> with guys like you. :D

So now your mommy is actively working to protect guys like me from you?! how selfless! I feel so taken care of :D

>> That's the problem. We lose out >> on learning a lot of things
>> because we just "relax"
>> and "take it easy" and think
>> that "it's just a game". I want >> to relax after I get good at
>> it. :)

Ok ok!!..at least someone is focusing on conquering the world so that the rest of us can run around being goofballs! :P

Cheers
Kais

Suresh S Murthy said...

Now thats one area left out i suppose by sayesha the gr8:)

Sayesha said...

#Kais,
Hahahahaha! You need protection from me? Hahahahahaha! Who's the one with the utterly-addictive-irrestible-killer bike? :D

#Suresh,
I wish! :P

Unknown said...

LOL at the last one Sash! Keep it up gurl, am with you. I loooove sports, incl badminton and your post just reminded me that its high time I get back to it, instead of getting bored doing nothing out here!!!

Wish you were in Mumbai yaar :(

Take care,
Aarti

Bivas said...

ahem ahem...sporty environ at the bar...n lotsa tips...chalo ek chawanni mere taraf se bhi ;-)
u know, u burn more calories while sleeping than doin ne other work. Also i read somewhr that ur future depends on ur dreams...so go to sleep :D
bole to baddy is a gud sport but sleeping on a winter day sounds tempting :-)
btw...the winamp joke was cool...and expected of someone who dangles ipods in place of ear-rings ;-)

Strider said...

Che y this post reminded me tht I haven't played football for what seems like an eternity! :-/

Enjoy madi! :D

Sayesha said...

#Rebellion,
So what are you waiting for? Start playing, girl! :)

#Bivas,
Wah wah kya tip diya hai! Jiyo mere laal! :)

#Strider,
Khelo khoob khelo! :D