The Shuttle Days - I

I am not a professional Shuttler, not even an expert in the game. I am just like the one, a kid, who loves to play in the streets with his friends all the time. It was because of such a habit, I started to love playing this game all the time in the evenings in childhood. Even today if somebody asks me the dimensions of the court, I open the gallery in my mobile and show them the pic of a court with all the markings. As a kid, I always found a partner to play the game. But with the growth, due to my ‘dedication’ in studies, I had to neglect all other worldly pleasures. This was the situation till my graduation days. It was during my post-graduation period that I started feeling that those childhood days were back. When I started playing this game, Shuttle Badminton, again in my life, I experienced several people, befriended some new from even different countries and learnt some good lessons and manners.

Naveen Hegde was the lad who shared a common interest with me. It almost took nearly eight months for both of us to get to know about each other well. Making acquaintance of him is one of the good things in my post-graduation life. I didn’t even have a thought of playing the game again in my life. It was an accident that I came to know of Hegde’s interest in this game.

One fine Saturday morning, as planned, four friends met at the Kukralli Lake for a jog. Kukralli Lake, after the Karanji Lake in Mysuru is the spot for walkers, joggers and photographers. You happen to see some people struggling hard to finish half a round of running to reduce the fat, some fit enough people running 2 to 3 rounds in a stretch, some walkers losing more of the energy in chit chats and some amateur photographers busy in capturing the birds in their frame. Amidst all these what attracted Hegde and me was the scenery of few people playing the Shuttle badminton near the UGC Academic staff college situated on the other side of the bank, almost half way from the entrance towards the University administrative office. Hegde and I stopped there for a while and started watching the game. Suddenly Hedge murmured, with the fore finger on his lips, ‘wrong shot selection. He could have just dropped it front at the left end’. I turned towards him and said ‘No. He might have hit it back seeing the other stepping front. Bad luck, wind’.
‘Yes. This should be played indoor. You get to see how fast the cock lands on the opposite court. Yet, playing outdoor is a different experience. If you play indoor all the time you struggle playing it outdoor for some time and vice versa', Hegde replied. I just nodded the head in an agreement. Suddenly a question arose in my mind,

‘Hegde, you play it?’

‘I used to, often, in my college days.’

I was little bit reluctant in asking him whether he would like to play the game with me from then on. But it was his turn now in asking a question that really pleaded me.

‘Do you have a Racket? I have two. I think we can play(?)’, Hegde looked at me in the anticipation of a positive reply.

‘Oh! Why not? I too have two. I am ready now itself.’

In the beginning, it was just restricted to the weekend evenings. In the evening, Hegde and I used to wear the racket cover around the neck, run half the distance to the court near the UGC Academic Staff College and paly it on the court without a NET. Soon we realized that we needed a NET and synthetic cocks (often called plastics) instead of feathers for the outdoor. Feathers are not actually suited for the outdoor. They are even less durable. At first we didn’t think of buying any shuttle badminton NET as we needed it only on weekends. We used a spare volleyball NET which Hegde had in his hostel, and only through our eyes we had to detect whether the cock actually flew over the NET or through it.

While it was a talk between us in the class about the badminton tournament happening around the world, few of our classmates got to know of our weekend habit and expressed their interest in joining us. Meanwhile we were searching for a court in the campus which is always free of student intrusion. We got one, behind the EMMRC, a small one though, but slippery. This forced me to learn the rules of the game (which Hegde was already aware of), playing it with one or two more friends, most of the time singles, sometimes doubles. Gautam, Mallik and Tejas were the newcomers. We still laugh at our initial days, playing it with a volleyball NET, picking up the old plastics thrown away near the court and using it in our practice, falling down sometimes on that slippery court, experimenting the shots on the novices – Shruthi, Kavitha, Priyanka!

It happened one day for us to go in search of a new court around the campus. We got one on one side of the department of Physics, situated in the mid of greenery. It was such a happiness discovering a new court with almost correct dimensions. This was really a bigger one compared to the previous and it was really tiresome playing just two games on this new court. Nevertheless, we got used to it sooner and still today it is one of our favourite outdoor courts (We call it ‘our area’). The weekend habit had then entered into our daily routine list. Gautam, Tejas and Mallik were our doubles partners. Not just the classroom interactions and activities, this game also had developed a new bond among us. Seeing a person on the court is completely different from seeing him in the classroom. We share new things, discuss on new topics, argue about a developmental process, give tips on physical fitness, tease one for their shots, while waiting for our turn to enter into the court, which otherwise would not be possible in the classroom hours. We had even planned of organizing inter departmental games in our funds and had even listed out the duties of each and everyone. Unfortunately, such plans do not work for outdoor games like shuttle badminton – you cannot control the wind.

One fine evening while we were talking aloud in the court we saw a person approaching us. We were afraid that he would take us into charge. It was Mr.Diwakar, an office staff of the EMMRC, who greeted us and enquired about the reasons for shifting to the new court. We were pleased to know that he was a regular viewer of our games and had even thought of joining us. We made a wrong guess on seeing such a fatty man of 35-40 age that he could be another such player like Gautam whose favourite place of landing the cock was an inch outside the back line of the court. In fact, we took the game seriously only after his entry. It really amazed us, the way this right hander used to receive any of the shots, how tactfully and strongly it might have been hit. Whether the cock was hit directly to his chest or over his head to the left end of the back part of the court, he knew how to land it safely in a gap. That was his consciousness. Of course, he might not be a world class player. Yet he is far better than all of us and it is no wonder that it amazed us. It was under his insistence we bought a new Shuttle Badminton Net and few Cosco bats for the practice in the beginning (Buying Yonex or such class bats is not recommended for the beginners what he says). Although we were (are) not experts, we started playing the game seriously within the limits of our ability. It used to sadden us when we missed to place the cock in a gap or when we missed a shot.

I still remember that day when Mr.Diwakar had brought a person, another class player. Hegde and I played a match of three sets against these two. It was 1-1 and so was a finals between the two teams. We almost had won the final set with a lead of 10 points. It was 15-5. This was the lesson I learnt in life from that game. Once the things doesn’t go in our favour, the mistake we do is losing the patience and peace. Once the patience is lost, everything appears to be going against our wish. We give up and accept the failure. Due to small mistakes we lost 7 points in a row. By then every gap in the court seemed disappearing. I started getting a notion that wherever I hit, they were capable of receiving, which made me hit directly to the racket of the person on the backside. I had lost patience and confidence and when they led us with 19-15, I almost gave up and felt exhausted. That was a great loss and a lesson. 

(Continued...)