With the beginning of the year begins the badminton season. Now, I am not going even to try to sit here and pretend like badminton is a cool sport, I am entirely aware it is not. My journey with badminton, and yes, it was a JOURNEY, began last year when I accidentally joined the ASA (after-school activity) and was forced by my best friend to do the same. So by that point, I had solidified my fate with the sport I had never done before. Last year’s SAISA was interesting, but it was vastly different from my experience this year since, then, I was entirely foreign to the sport and had never been to a SAISA before which made it a more stressful experience than anything. This year, on the other hand, I went in with an idea of what I was walking into and that helped me focus on enjoying the experience rather than stressing out unnecessarily. Not to mention, this year, I was co-team captain, and nothing uplifts my spirits like giving me yet another leadership position to fulfil 🙂

SAISA (South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association) brings together international schools from the Indian subcontinent. We engage in competitions in extracurricular areas like music, athletics, and sports. The sports offered by SAISA rotate on a seasonal basis, and the participating schools take turns hosting the event; this year, the American School of Bombay hosted badminton.

The tournament began on a great note, seeing as after a long three months of practice, I woke up the day we were set to travel with a fever, cough and cold, almost certain I would not be allowed to go. Keep in mind, something very similar happened with another team member last year and so this happening once more felt like a curse that reigns over our team. But, determined to travel and make something of all those days of training, I insisted that I was fine and convinced my teachers and parents to allow me to travel. My extensive debating experience finally came to use because my convincing worked, and before I knew it, we were in the airport. After a short flight filled with Panadols and downing cough syrup, we landed in Bombay

First on the agenda was to go straight to the school for a short tour before dinner and then head to the hotel. At ASB, I met and recognised some people from last year as well as bonded with our own team as we discussed our feelings about the games we were set to play the next day. Already, this trip was turning out to be better than last year because we had a full team, all of whom were nervous but equally excited about what awaited us and all willing to have fun in the process. On the first day, we got to the hotel and unpacked before going to one of the restaurants as a team to get dinner, something that would become a nightly ritual of ours.

Day two of the trip marked the first day of games and possibly the most nerve-wracking morning because tensions were high. Something I always found funny about SAISA is how, because most of the schools that travel into the host country stay at the same hotel, we exchange polite smiles and conversations early in the morning at breakfast, fully aware that in the next couple of hours, we will all be fighting for first place. It really encapsulates how SAISA teaches us to compartmentalize, leaving all the pressure on the court and making real friends in the process. I woke up still with a fever but managed to make it through the games, winning all of mine, with the exception of two. After the day of games, we headed off for a short trip to one of the local malls as some ‘sightseeing’ for the day where I was reminded of my deep and unfailing love for fast food chains in India. The highlight of the day was definitely when we went to the mall, and I found an ice cream shop I loved growing up and got to revisit that bit of my childhood.

Day three was a little less pressure as we were warmed up and ready to experience the competition atmosphere yet again. We started this day by playing ASB, the home team and the ones who went on to win the tournament in the end. Needless to say, these were not going to be easy matches, and we knew that. However, we were off to a good start; I was able to win doubles and mixed doubles, feeling especially validated because of the difficulty of this team. The rest of the team also bagged a couple of wins, which was a triumph for our relatively amateur team. Next, we were set to play AISC (American International School of Chennai), the team that won the tournament last year and was known for their skill in this sport. My most stressful game was when playing AISC in my mixed doubles game because I realised just how frustrating playing sports can be and how easy it is to get in your own head. Like I said, I am not an athlete, but I am competitive, and even though we ended up winning the game, when I look back and reflect on the game, I realise how things like the reputation of the opponent and pressure can play a role in performance.

The way the badminton tournament works is that on the first day, we play team games, which means we are playing to place in the tournament overall. The next day, we play our individuals, which is where we represent ourselves and play to place as the ‘best’ for whichever category you are competing for (i.e. best doubles, best-mixed doubles, best singles). The individuals did not have any remarkable outcomes, but they were enjoyable, and I always enjoy playing against new people; learning new techniques and areas of the sport along the way. The rest of the day was filled with roaming around the school and watching more games before the closing ceremony. We placed overall 4th out of the 6 participating schools, a significant improvement from last year. Additionally, two of our teams’ boys came 3rd place for boy doubles, a great win for our whole team. After dinner at the school, we ended the day by going to the mall once more for some last-minute shopping.

The final day of the trip was travelling back; all a bit heavy-hearted, but we were pleased with our progress coming so far. Reflecting on my experience, I am most happy that I can confidently look back on the trip and be sure that every team member had an enjoyable, enriching and fun experience. As captain, it was my goal to make sure everyone stayed motivated and happy regardless of how their games turned out. That being said, I wanted to ensure everyone’s feelings were recognised especially since it was some of their first SAISA, it was important to me that they made the most of their experiences, something I can say was definitely achieved.

Overall, this was a great trip for a number of reasons but I think one of the biggest contributors in what made this trip special was that it served as a break from me. I got an opportunity to bond with my team mates, create new and meaningful connections, and play a nerdy fun sport for 3 days! The whole package! Though people may question the idea of doing a SAISA in DP 1, in my opinion, this trip was a great opportunity to get away from the school environment and work, serving as a pause button on the stresses of this year. As this was my last SAISA, I could not have asked for a better one. Although it may not have been filled with medals and placements, it was a great experience and an even nicer break from all the work that awaited me back in Colombo.