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I had a very exciting outing on Sunday night at the Richmond Badminton Club. We had 16 members on three courts playing doubles for three hours nearly non-stop. There was barely any time to rest in between, so we played lots of games and it was very satisfying. I had different partners and there were some wins and some losses. The most memorable games of the night though were the last three games.
It was two and a half hour into the badminton session and everybody was pretty tired, but the enthusiasm was still there. At this time, a young and very skilled newcomer named Bernne and his lady partner Keran started to play against me and my friend Francis in a mixed double vs. men’s double game. Our opponents recently placed second in mixed doubles in a tournament held at Richmond’s Clear Two Badminton Centre, so their skills are proven. Bernne especially has a very complete skill set and a lot of power. Francis and I were merely people who love to play badminton for fun. Francis has played badminton loner than I have, and his defense is his stronger point.
In the first game, we were evenly matched for the most part, battling to a 10-10 tie. At that point our opponents used their youth to their advantage and got points from some high impact backcourt smashes. We didn’t quit and managed to wrestle two more points, but lost the game 12-15. The second game came right after and our opponents quickly built up a 6-0 lead. Their powerful attacks and precision teamwork has us in a bad position, and we would have quickly lost if we didn’t change our strategy. My team decided two use the 2 vs. 1 strategy, but not the kind where we both attack one of our opponents. A mixed doubles pair typically has the lady covering the front and the men covering the rest of the court. We used a lot of diagonal shots to the two back corners, and this forced Bernne to chase down and hit every shot, so it was basically us two against him. Bernne was able to keep at first but was eventually worn down by the side-to-side running, and we managed to take the second game 15-12.
It was up to the last game to decide the winners of this doubles match. Both sides wanted to win and there were many highlights. In order to counter our 2 vs. 1 strategy, our opponents changed formation with Keran sometimes going to mid-court or backcourt to attack. The game was hard fought with neither side yielding. We had better net play skills, and took advantage of our female opponent’s weakness up front to win a few points. We also had some spectacular defensive shots. A few examples were when Keran had front court smashes that looked like sure kills, but somehow I managed to get to the bird and return it to an empty corner. I don’t know how I was able to make those miraculous returns. The only person I have seen making these kinds of shots is my good friend and coach Mr. Su. The game eventually came to a 10-10 tie. At this point Bernne started to get frustrated at the lack of progress and made some mistakes. Keran also missed some shots that could have been returned. Even though the service switched back and forth several times, Francis and I clawed to a 14-10 advantage. The last rally of the game ended with us swatting our opponents’ backcourt drop shot, and we managed to come from behind to take the match 2 games to 1.
This match was a battle of wits and power. The strategies my side used was taught to me by Mr. Su. If we didn’t use the kind of 2 vs. 1 strategy in the second game and instead tried to attack one opponent (Bernne), then Bernne would have easily repelled our attacks and turn the game to his advantage. The targeting of empty spots made the game much tougher for our opponents. Other doubles tactics such as controlling the front court, swatting high net shots, returning serves to the middle of the sidelines etc. are also very useful. In the end, this was just one out of many matches I’ve played, but the chance to play against skilled opponents and to use all the badminton knowledge that I have learned make this an unforgettable experience.