Badminton: Sports of Experiment
By: Chanisa Trinetkamol
(Picture from Google)
From China to Great Britain, all things have changed and renewed over thousands of years. However, badminton still retained its unique characteristic with the special ways of surfing the cocks, it is now the most well-known sport in world history.Badminton, the racquet sport that hits the shuttlecock over the net. It is the sport that requires discipline and strategy in finding the solution to fight against the opponent. This sport's importance has motivated many schools around the world, including The Newton Sixth Form School to provide their students with easy access to the badminton course.
Nevertheless, there are still a lot of students who are reluctant to join the badminton club due to a number of reasons. In this article, we will take a closer look at the importance of badminton. We will also have a special interview from coach Ku, Wittaya Panomchai, the professional badminton coach from the Newton Sixth Form School. Prior to his current badminton coach, he had participated in many world-class tournaments and received many achievements from inside and outside of Thailand. With his numerous experience of badminton sports, the readers would get to know more about badminton and why you should at least try to play it once in a lifetime.
Mimi: Good evening coach Ku, it is a pleasure to have a discussion with you, the professional badminton player over this interesting topic. Firstly, may I ask for your introduction about your badminton career life with some achievements that you had achieved before becoming a badminton coach at the Newton Sixth Form school?
Coach Ku: So let me start off with an introduction first. My name is Wittaya Panomchai, and my nickname is Ku. Long story short, I graduated from a computer science major, but later changed my career to be a successful professional badminton player. Things that make me become so successful is that I always receive first place in the domestic competitions. Also, outside of Thailand, the most eminent competitions that earned me the reputation were mainly divided into 3 matches. Firstly, it was the world match in Turkey; I received third place in the 40-45 kg men. Second, I won the gold medal from the World Senior competition in 45-50 kg. men. Recently in Poland, I could actually step up to the final match. Unfortunately, I lost the semi-final match with a single score gap apart. So, I only aimed for the bronze medal prize back home. In conclusion, I received one gold medal and three bronze medals from the large competitions aboard. Apart from that, I usually got the championship prize, silver medal, but mostly the gold medals from all the badminton competitions that I had attended.
Mimi: Thank you so much for your amazing answer. The next question is what is the main inspiration that made you decide to play this sport?
Coach Ku: My first intention is that I originally preferred to play sports including, basketball, football, table tennis, or even tennis. I could participate in all the sports competitions with my practical skills. However, I did not have the opportunity to do all these kinds of competitions, since I lived in the countryside with lack of opportunities to access. I once was invited to be the school’s football player, but I still could not do it. When I later came to study in Bangkok, I still pursued all the sport skills despite some technical problems that I had to face. For example, there was no available football field to attend, or the tennis court was difficult to access at that time. One day, there was rain falling while I was playing inside the tennis court. I then ran to the badminton court and discovered the best alternative sports that I could play instead of tennis. I would say that badminton is a sport that does not depend on the weather, and you could play it all day long. I found it was really fun and strategic to make a move by hitting the shuttlecocks. This is the beginning of my first steps in badminton practice.
Mimi: The next question; why do you enjoy playing badminton over the other sports? You could say it differently from what you had just previously mentioned.
Coach Ku: Although I found the other sports are fun to play, I felt like it seemed to use a lot of harsh physical contact. These contacts made me suffer with an Anterior Cruciate ligament torn. I still face severe physical damage nowaday, so I could not play basketball and football thoroughly. For tennis, there are a lot of limitations and conditions as I had mentioned in the prior question. So the only sport that I could fight with the smart strategy without hurting myself is badminton. It is so challenging, especially for those who haven’t played it before. For example, when we can trick them into hitting in the wrong direction, we will be proud of ourselves. Badminton allows us to play against ourselves, strategies, and the opponents. We need to be strong, concentrated, and fearless in order to fight against the adversary. The most significant thing about this sport is we need to halt their strategy, and fight over with our own strength. For those who have never played in this sport, I would recommend all of you to join this badminton club.
Mimi: That is such an incredible answer. Now, we are moving on to the next question, which is about your vision towards your students as the badminton coach in the Newton Sixth Form school. As the Newton’s sport coach, what is the most challenging part for the Newton’s students in developing their badminton’s skill?
Coach Ku: In my opinion, the most challenging part is how to make the students have the same emotions as I do toward badminton. How to shape the children’s attitude to be interested in the sport is also the most important struggle that I had been facing here. As you may have known, most of the students in Newton are full of stereotypes: they don't like exercise, sweat, or anything that is inconvenient for their lives.On the other hand, badminton is totally opposite of their lifestyles. It is quite hard for them to immediately play badminton, because of all these factors. If I could make them love, have faith, and trust in me, then they would listen to my guidance. Students could use these teachings to overcome their comfort zones ,and they will start to play badminton wholeheartedly.
Mimi: According to the previous questions, how do you manage to get the students to be open-minded to this sport?
Coach Ku: Part of it was my success in the badminton career that provided them with motivation; they might have known it by themselves or from the school’s declaration. I also need to show all of them that what I had said is not just an exaggerated boast, but it is what I have usually been committed to. Body weight, running, or even the push-ups, I also needed to prove to them that I had done what I had just challenged them. For badminton, I proved to them that what I say is the possible matter. One time, I taught the students to hit the shuttlecocks down to the box. They all could not do it, so I showed them the process and they all believed in my words. Teaching and showing are the two steps that I used to gain their personal trust, so they can be open-minded to badminton.
Mimi: In your personal opinion, in what way does badminton benefit the players?
Coach Ku: First of all, badminton is the type of sport that uses the coordinates and brain to move faster. If they have the well-functioning coordination along with the training that I have been teaching. They will be able to play badminton happily while improvising their strengths throughout the course. These benefits can be used in everyday life. For example, you might suffer with the backache for sitting 30 minutes straight, but you might get to sit 1 hour straight with no condition because of badminton. Secondly, your fully-developed coordination will increase the higher rates of action-reaction. You might find it difficult at first, but if you can do it, then it will be beneficial to you in the long-term.
Mimi: May you give me some tricks that the beginners could apply for improving better badminton skills?
Coach Ku: My tricks for those beginners who have started playing badminton is to give them some encouragement. I don’t care whether they hit the shuttlecocks with the basic teaching or not, but I am just already feeling happy that they could hit the shuttlecock. My next trick is that I will challenge them to hit the shuttlecocks harder. If they are better at hitting it hard, then I will tell them to hit it faster and more precisely in direction. This challenging speech will encourage them to take step forward and start progressing their levels without the burden of pressure. This will reassure them to practice and play more for better development.
Mimi: What is the most important personality to have in playing this kind of sport?
Coach Ku: I think the foundations of playing badminton or other types of sports are tolerance and then perseverance. However, the reasons why they did not follow the instructions, or play badminton, are because they do not understand the purpose of it. If they understand it, we can trust and do it. In my club, there are a lot of students who do not understand badminton and play it for their own intention. So I would talk to them and make the students know their own potential being in this club. I would also try to get into their points and we both would have compassion for each other. This will make everyone have faith in me and trust in themselves. They then could play this sport peacefully and progressively.
Mimi: Lastly, may you give the suggestions to new students who still hesitated to join the badminton’s club?
Coach Ku: I think that every activity including basketball, creative drama, or even the badminton club has their own advantages. It all depends on your favorite activities, and other factors. However, for those who are still hesitant of the club to choose, I would suggest you to try joining the badminton club. It is better than being frightened of badminton without a single trial. You will eventually discover the enjoyment and the strategy that I had just mentioned in the previous question.
Mimi: Thank you so much coach Ku, for participating in our interview. I cannot believe that badminton is like an experiment that can motivate everyone with your support and encouragement. I hope that this article will be able to make everyone easily decide what activity they can join in the upcoming semester.