Feature image taken by Satwik Nayak

Part 1 (written on December 6 2019)

One of my CAS goals from the very beginning has been to get into at least one sport SAISA. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough to be in the Volleyball team, however, I’m setting my sites on Badminton and this time I’m going to do it right. Training is essential in preparation for the badminton tryouts and last year I was no where near getting into even the B team. I needed a change. As a result, as the volleyball season was coming to an end, I decided it was a necessity to start training from then onwards to even possibly be on the same level as those who did SAISA last year. Now I go twice a week to either the Otters Club or D.S. Senanayake College badminton court on Wednesdays and Fridays for 1 to 2 hours. Since then, I have been improving considerably especially with building up my stamina as all the shuttle training involves very repetitive and arduous physical exertion. I have also been able to improve my smashes now that they don’t always hit the net anymore. However, I must still work very hard to improve my receives of opponent smash shots because those are my greatest weakness.

Image taken by Satwik Nayak.

So far I have been able to play against a few individuals of whom will also be trying out for Badminton in SAISA, some of whom have been a part of SAISA in previous years. It became clear to me that there was still a ways to go to get to that level of skill but I am definitely on my way to that level. With about 3 months left before the Badminton season begins, I need to focus everything into this to possibly compete with the others.

Image taken by Satwik Nayak.

Part 2 (written on January 13th 2020)

Over the break, though I wasn’t planning on it, I came across an opportunity to train even more for badminton in Malaysia. I went to four of their training sessions which were no doubt at a much higher level of intensity than the ones I’m normally used to. Being around kids my age or younger who are doing so much better than me, though daunting, helped motivate me to do a lot better. Initially it was difficult for me to have the confidence to do all the drills when everyone else was able to do it 10 times better. At the beginning, I was was messing up my shots and my smashes but gradually, I gained the confidence to just do the best that I could. In the end, I was able to keep up with everyone just fine and I’m proud to be able to do that. At this point, I have invested a large chunk of my time and effort. I have brought myself in challenging situations that test my limits. Some of which, like the training I went through in Malaysia is definitely a lot more challenging of a process mentally and physically than the Badminton tryouts will be. Failure is not an option I will take very lightly because if I do, it may very well be my greatest failure of my high school life.

TallyPress. “Sports Arena Sentosa.” TallyPress, https://tallypress.com/malaysia-top-10s/top-10-indoor-badminton-courts-kl-selangor/attachment/sports-arena-sentosa/.