Back to Badminton Days

I started playing badminton seriously when I took it up as a P.E. subject when I was in college. I was so into it that I always come in early and stay even after our class hours. I practice with my regular partner and my professor, who noticed our interest, regularly plays with us to enhance our skills. After college, when I was employed at Haribon Foundation, when the annual NGO sportsfest included badminton as a one of the activities, I got serious, practiced hard with my partner and eventually became the 1st place among 5 different organizations.

Even during holidays and vacations, my friends and I would line up for more than an hour at a local indoor badminton court just to play and enjoy the game. After 4 years at Haribon, when I was employed at PBSP, another NGO, I also joined groups who regularly play badminton after office hours. I even joined a tournament with a close friend, but unfortunately we lack practice so we were not able to land a decent finish.

When my knees started to hurt and playing time was shortened because of limited time, i decided to retire my racket and just concentrate on my work and my family. Honestly, I miss the fun and the excitement. When the year started, my friend mentioned that she and her husband needed to go to the gym, lose some weight and start exercising. Suddenly I remembered she mentioned she wanted to play badminton before but we never got a chance to play together. Well, i guess, this maybe the time. I mentioned to her that we can play, even just once or twice a week just for the exercise. She agreed so i started to look for a court to play and sent a message through text to a few friends who I knew were playing before. To my surprise, my friends were also willing to play again for fun.

Hopefully, this activity will help me be active again and have a regular exercise program. Badminton is not difficult to learn and is a relatively an affordable sport. You just need a good racket, dependable shoes and about 3-5 friends to play with. Badminton also helps relieve stress and fatigue and forces you to drink lots of liquid to remove toxins inside your body. I surely hope I will be consistent this year, and maybe restart my days of running and swimming too.