University of Birmingham - An All England Special
After an arduous trip to London, layered with delays, grumpiness and jetlag, I arrived for All England semifinal. The games itself were very different compared to watching them on TV. The court feels smaller while the players appear to cover more grounds on the court. The rally become faster once I have sideway view instead of the normal bird eye view that TV often broadcasts in. All of the games on Saturday were amazing. Lakshyun Sen cramped at the very last minute but he was able to capture the opportunity against the young Victor Lai. Lin, the now All England champion, demonstrates why left-hander had an advantage by playing tight drops against Kunlavut. The double games came with crayzi enerygy from the Malay and Indo pairs. The fans always chanted with each smash, which hyped up the stadium during the point.
On Sunday, we went to University of Birmingham to play in a Vietnamese group. There were 8 wooden courts. The courts are mix-used for badminton, volleyball and basketball. Therefore, they are not standard badminton courts. The ceiling, however, is incredibly high so there’s no glaring and clear hitting the floor. The air is cold, which makes the bird goes a bit slower. However, that didn’t hinder us from having fun. The highlight was the Vietnamese in the group. There was a sense of carefree that you don’t find in the U.S. My theory is that their identities are not tied to work compared to their U.S. counterparts. There is no point in working more because more doesn’t guarantee more pay. Additionally, weekends and PTOs are treated as the holy grail of Europe. I can sense that in each and everyone of the brothers there. The court is nothing special but the vibe is immaculate