As Shuttlecock Flies

Let's start with how I got into All England volunteer event, it was actually a pretty straight forward process: apply, interview, accepted, attend.

Initially, I was an audience back in 2017, witnessed our Malaysian hero, Dato Lee Chong Wei hovering the All England Champion Cup high above in the air, with our Malaysian pride and honor overflowing the entire arena. As a Malaysian, the fact that our flag is able to flutter on the other side of the earth, it was indeed a proud moment. I was so enthused over by it and that is why I ended up volunteering this year.

NOT going into the details but feel free to ask me about the the volunteer event or the process if you are interested. This post will gear more towards my personal experience and reflection instead, not yours (obviously).

STATUS

To me the whole volunteering event feels like a short getaway from the city, ever since I started to work for this company (which I am obsess with), I haven't really got the time to travel around and explore more in UK. Don't get me wrong, I am still as enthusiastic as I was on my first day, but sometimes it is good to take a step back and chill.

One thing I like about volunteering is that, people don't talk about what I do for living that much nor they wanted to know my social status. In the city, we are "labelled" by what we work as and who we work for, in that sense, a standard professionalism has to be there even in a normal conversation , just in case the guy you met in the coffee shop just now turns out to be the CEO of whichever company.

Not that I don't like to talk to people about my job, but I would really love to talk to people just for the sake of talking, not networking from time to time. So I really enjoyed my time in Birmingham, because no one would ask me what I do, and even if they asked, I could guarantee that 90% of them doesn't know what is a quant analyst does. It is cruel but it is true.

PEOPLE

Generally volunteers are nice, I am fortunate enough to meet some cool people and made some new friends. Come to think of it, it was such a cool experience where people with little or no knowledge about one another get together like some good old friends within days.

We all came from different background and came together to work on something we are passionate about but not legally obligated to do so. Maybe that was the reason why we, some of the volunteers, got pretty vibe since the energy we bear were at the same frequency. 

In Birmingham, I say whatever I want, I talk to whoever I feel like talk to for no reason other than wanting to know more about that person because it was such a comfortable environment! "What's your name? Do you play badminton? Tell me something interesting!", those are the questions I asked most of the time.

AH YEA! I met our Malaysia MD player Goh V Shem in the reception and talked to him a bit (was waiting for Dato Lee), but nevertheless, it was good to talk to one of our heroes and shook his hand after that. I was so nervous when he popped out, so I don't really remember what I said exactly lol.

PASSION

While I was wandering around the arena, people talked to me about the players, about their own badminton background, about the rackets, about everything related to badminton. For some people, you see fire burning in their eyes when they talk about badminton as if they are in the court. It reminds me a lot about the story behind my racket, why did I picked it and why did I threw it away.

You see, people always got confused about their love of badminton with their love of winning. To me, badminton at first was a sport, I loved it because it was fun, enjoyable and stimulates thoughts, but when I started to have my name on the back of my t-shirt and the sponsors underneath it, it became a sport I play to win. I pushed myself everyday, which was good, but the excitement and passion towards badminton were diminishing day by day and eventually replaced by the thirst of respect and pressure from everyone especially myself.

I didn't really care nor appreciate much for my rackets, for me, it was just a tool to smash my opponent out. If people tell me whoever player was good, I will come back after a month or two with a pure will to defeat whoever that player was. When I see badminton, I see competition, no fun no chill, I must win. That was me back then, a highly competitive and tryhard kid, and that is where I found out that I took it too far.

There is no point to further illustrate how bad it was but my memory stopped at the time when my coach was constantly shouting at me and I was constantly upset by whatever reason and throwing my racket around. The initial inspiration to play badminton was so far, so deep and so pointless for me to rediscover at that time. Hence it becomes some of my best and worst years of my life.

When I was watching those kids doing their agility challenge (basically footwork game) in the event, it reminds me of those good old times where I first started training, those familiar faces, the giggles we had together in the same venue with the long lost smell of shuttlecocks. Something deep down was tickling, because only then I realized how much I loved to play badminton before the fame and gain crawled in.

TIME'S UP!

I still remember one day after I lost my competition (2010 I guess?), when my parents were at the lounge to fetch me back home, I pointed to the TV and said to my mum "One day you will see me play in the TV and you will chant my name." That is one of the promises I carry with me until today but too bad I couldn't keep it. Nevertheless, I was in the arena, CLOSE ENOUGH HAHA.

A lot of inspirations from this short getaway, but sadly I haven't got the time to detail it out and digest it just yet. Before I even finish reminiscing my time in Birmingham, my train already stops at London Euston and the concrete jungle is ready for me outside the carriage.

Although I did not spent as much time with myself as expected but at least it is another tick off my checklist. It has been a pleasure peeps! Next station, Olympic Game 2020!