Taylors Closed Badminton Tournament

It was a fine Saturday morning, i woke up at 6:40am and then get brushed up and pack up my badminton bag. It was just great when i feel confident. Had my breakfast and then headed to Andy's place to pick him up.



After picking up Andy, we took about 5 minutes to reach the tournament venue. There were some players already warming up and getting ready. Meanwhile, i was chatting with my bunch of friends and laughing around. Hehe.



I waited for my turn, did some stretching and then had some strokes with my friend. My match was being announced and there i go. I went over to the court where the match will be held.



I stroked with my opponent, trying to read his strokes and his ability. He seems good to me, quite equal. Then, the match begins. It was a 30 point 1 game for the first round, so it's a fast kill game i have to play.



My opponent chose the court and i took the service. The match begins and i served the shuttle. My opponent scored the first point. After the first point, i took the initiative to win more points and i did managed to do so, leading 8-5. My confidence grew and i was able to play and give out the game i usually play, and managed to get some cheap points from his mistake. The game then went into the interval, with me leading 15-10.



During the interval, i stood there wiping my sweat with my towel, telling myself, "I can do it! Just maintain the game like this."



After the interval, the game continued. I was playing the usual game of mine, but my opponent did manage to score some points too. The game went on and the score was 25-20, with me leading ahead of him.



All of a sudden, my concentration and focus lapsed. My mind kept telling me to find "shortcuts" in the game, and i kept trying. My mistakes and flaws appeared. My opponent took advantage of that and caught up with me. Eventually, he came back level and the score was 25-25.



My heart starts to beat faster, i felt pressured when he caught up. Then i took back a point, leading 26-25, but it didn't boost my confidence. Instead, my opponent became more confident, add in more attacks and he came back 28-26, taking the lead.



I took all kinds of ways to try to take back the lead, fighting hard, reaching out for every shot he place and trying to create an opportunity. Fortunately, i got back a few points and the score was 28-28. I stood still, holding the shuttlecock in my hand, trying to change the fate of mine, but then i made a simple mistake and there goes my 1 point to him, allowing him to lead 29-28.



It was the crucial moment of the match. I tried to hang on there, and thought of doing an overhead smash to get back the point. My opponent hold the shuttlecock, he gave a high service and immediately i reversed backwards quickly and jump! My hands swing quickly and contacted with the shuttle.



My smash didn't make it, it hit the net. The moment i saw my smash went into the net, i looked up at the ceiling of the hall, and looked at my opponent. My opponent stared at me and yelled out loudly at me and i went over and shook his hands. Just 2 points the difference, but it made a huge difference.



So close yet so far...some didn't have to work hard and they managed to get into the semi finals, while i trained so hard, putting every drop of my sweat into training, but ended up bowing out in the early rounds.



It's just so denying....



If i managed to get into the semi finals, then things will probably different...

Training

Been putting in a lot of effort in training, lots of assignments in the way too.



Assignments, training, assignments, training....



Have to hold on all the way.



Taylor's closed coming this saturday, condition not so good, but hope i can give my best in there.

Tournaments

The two tournaments i participated wasn't a very good outing for me.



The first tournament, Impian7 Doubles Tournament, 2 hours before match i suffered from fever and had to play through the match fever. Ended up losing in the first round.



The second tournament was JJB tournament at Wangsa Maju. I couldn't adjust myself towards the shuttle and my strokes. That cost a lot to me and ended up getting an early first round exit.



Next will be Taylors Closed Badminton Tournament. Can i do it?



Need to be on form during tournament la~

Panic

Match against Cedric:

21-13, 15-21, 19-21 [LOST]

Duration: 1:00 hour



It was so tough playing against him. He just somehow able to affectd o my mentality with just a few Yells and self encouragement. I told myself to calm down so i won't get affected by him, but seems like nothing worked.



In the first game, i started off not so well at the first half, i was still trying to find my own form, then i tried to up my speed and intercept his shots, fortunately it worked and i managed to pull the gap and raced to 21point.



Second set was slightly different this time. Made some simple mistakes and he managed to take the lead and made the gap huge. I try so hard to close the gap, but it was just so hard and i was also desperate of getting easy points, thus making huge mistakes and they were just so SIMPLE...in the end, the second set was claimed by Cedric.



The third set was all about mental game, see who is able to hang on till the last point and whoever makes mistake in the rally. It was really tough when he was leading 12-6, and in my mind i was going to give up, but suddenly i managed to take a few points back, so i decided not to give up at the point where the score was 14-18, and i tried working hard and fought the way till the score was 18-20. I took a deep breath, trying to get at least a few points of hope, and i managed to get it and just one more point, i'll make it a deuce.



The final point, my heart beating fast, my eyes opened wide, i started anticipating and predict what will he do, so i chose to do a flick serve, unfortunately he read my shot and he did a half smash down my forehand side line. I tried retrieving the smash but the moment my racquet touched my the shuttle, it hit the frame and deflected out.



The moment when the shuttle deflected out, i kneeled down on the court, looking at the green surface, blaming myself why i couldn't take that shot. It was just so denying to me, but then it's all over. I stood up and walked over to my opponent, giving him a smile and shook his hand.



It was closer this time, as compared to previous matches. Just made too many ambitious shots and i need to learn to be more focused and calm. Need more words of encouragement!



College closed tournament coming up! Gotta really perform!

R.I.P my friend and brother of mine.

A tragic incident happened in my house, one of our family member, Yuan Yuan passed away. Eventhough he's a dog, but we treat it as a family.



It's hard for me to accept at the moment, but i have to stay strong.



It's really sad that he's gone. Normally with him around, the house will be filled with laughter and you can feel the joy in the house.



We will always love you and remember you forever.



Rest in Peace, my friend and brother of mine. R.I.P

Just to let it out.

I just don't understand myself. When i play against faster players, I can put up my pace and try to match up with them, but when playing against player of the same speed and pace, i seem to slow down slightly, relax and then got controlled by the opponent.



It's my mindset that's playing me around. I feel crap, feeling really crap. Training so hard on movement and speed on court most of the time, why do i still end up getting controlled by a player of same pace? Shouldn't i be able to Put Up the Pace and then control him instead?



It's strange...



I'm not aiming for streaks, but i'm aiming to beat the player more consistently. If I still lose to the player frequently, then what's training for? What's all this i'm doing? Why play badminton?



Probably i'm just thinking too much...



I'm still not strong enough, i can only prove myself stronger when i beat them more consistently...



"Never let failure defeat you, Stand up and counter them"

Viral infection

Once again, i got infected with viral infection in the big intestine, which indirectly similar to food poisoning, but just mild one.



Wanted to go training today, but seems like it's no good, so i didn't go for my training. Felt like i missed out a lot by not attending training today. Many upcoming events for me but then doctor told me to eat plain food and liquid food for 2 to 3 days, crap eh?



I need to wait for it to recover now, but then there's a very important match on Friday and how i wish i can play, but seems like it's not helping. I want to recover and play badminton again.



Please, i hope for miracle now, to recover faster...