Smashin’ 21s!

The shot isn’t over until the shuttle hits the floor – a true representation of the attitude each player carried through the 7th Crestwood Badminton Association Tournament which came to a magnificent end last month. Indika Jayawickrema and Vikram Soni’s consistent attacking performance across the entire tournament showed results as they gained a 21-10, 21-18 victory over Venkatesh Srinivasan and Bala. The latter pair displayed great strength and tactical placement to reach to the finals of the tournament. The tournament also showcased experienced players Sandip Khanal and Spoorti Rattan.

The tournament commenced on 28th March, 2012 with a draw pool for 40 badminton enthusiasts from the Crestwood Badminton Club. The first day of matches presented interesting clashes which saw the ousting of 10 talented pairs including Sandip/ Shivakumar, Spoorti/Mani, Bob/ Sagar, Prasanta/Rahul, Kim/ Nivi, Amitabh/Nitin, Basker/Lin, Michael/Ravi, Rikki/Ranga and Satish/Malkit. Bob/Sagar fought tough opposition from Sam Murti and Karthik Ram Prasad but lost by a margin of 1 point. The two pre-quarterfinals matches were a fair prediction of the mixture of talent present in the club. Murthi/Karthik’s expansive court coverage and percentage play proved difficult for Sajith/ Ryan to handle. Venkat Srinivasan and Jonathan Tolenino displayed a good, steady performance to outclass Aditya/Jeyakumar to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The quarter-finals were a mixed affair. Koshi/Byju lost a well fought match to Indika/Vikram as the latter’s aggressive style of play presented limited opportunities to fight back. True to their performance in the pre-quarters, Murthi/Karthik showed precision and substance in taking out Gowtham/Jitender. In the other half of the draw, Bala/Venkatesh’s persistence and pre-emptive play paid off as they managed to seal a close match against Neni/Vijay with a 3 point difference. Venkat/ Jonathan played Harry/Siva in an evenly matched contest however, Venkat/Jonathan managed to scrape a 1 point victory to proceed to the semi-finals. After some intense rallies, mind games and an aggressive strategy show, Indika/Vikram gained victory over Murthi/Karthik and Bala/

Jin, had a flawless game and his opponents could not exploit any chinks in his armour. He had an answer to everything that his final opponent, Tien Minh Nguyen, threw at him. The only threat he had was in the semi finals against Indonesian, Simon Santoso. Although Simon penetrated Chen’s defence, his undoing was his inconsistency as he committed many unenforced errors. Simon, like Taufiq, had a smooth backhand. The women’s singles was tame, as Han Li of China had

Venkatesh defeated Venkat/ Jonathan to gain a rightful place in the finals of the tournament.

On the Final day of the tournament, the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm of various players was recognised by awarding trophies to players as a mark of achievement. The players that showed a ‘cool head’ and were recognised as being the most consistent of the tournament were Jonathan Tolentino, Manikandan Parakulam and Bob Yost. The most dedicated player awards were given to Venkatesh Srinivasan, Rikki Wei and Rahul Kulkarni for their sincerity and passion. The ‘cheetahs’ of the court – the swiftest players were Karthik Ram Prasad, Hitesh Bansal and Amitabh Mukherjee. Finally, the best players of the tournament recognition were given to Prasanta Panda and Spoorti Rattan for their extensive skills, court coverage and tactics. The collective enthusiasm of badminton lovers from varied cultural backgrounds at the Crestwood club has been a major driving force that brings everyone together on a weekly basis to enjoy the sport. However, the immense support of the tournament sponsor, Value World Travel and its Director, Neni Tiwary who is also an enthusiastic member of the club, was to be acknowledged as their assistance for the club and the tournament brought lustre to the court. The an easy win.

The doubles were generally fast and furious games. In the men’s doubles, a crowd puller was the pair of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiwan. Whenever Kido leapt to smash, the crowd hooted for him. In the women’s doubles, the crowd loved the never-say-die attitude of Luo Ying and Luo Yu from China. The final of the mixed doubles was evenly fought. However, in the end, the Chinese Taipei pair of Fang Chieh Min and Lee Sheng Mu prevailed over the Malaysian duo. Another doubles pair that impressed me was the Indonesian pair of Angga Pratama and Ryan Agung Saputra who went down in the semi finals. awards ceremony was followed by festive dinner buffet for all the members and their families involved bringing the tournament to a lavish finish.

Now, a quiz question: What is the fastest racquet sport on earth? It’s badminton. At the women’s doubles the Luo pair smashed at 210 to 220 kmph. Chen Jin, in the finals, smashed at over 260 kmph. The fastest ever recorded badminton smash was by Malaysian player Tan Boon Heong at 421 kmph!

The unique essence of the Crestwood Badminton Club is the feel-good atmosphere and the “one big family” attitude amongst all the members which brings everybody to the courts. The slightly competitive yet sportsmanship air adds to such a friendly ambience. Basker

Ratnam’s persistent approach and sincere dedication allows for a platform to bring all badminton lovers to come together and enjoy the sport in its true spirit at the club. Without his invaluable management and contribution in running the Crestwood Badminton Club, it would not have been possible to propagate the club to such stature and to make it a funfilled environment. Basker’s peppy commentary, Praveen’s teasing expressions, Amitabh’s enthusiasm and spurring himself on, Bob’s energetic rallies, Prasanta’s smiling attitude and Nivi’s young passion – such colourful characters in the Crestwood Badminton Club embody the uplifting charisma and the recognition of the unity and excitement within members of the club. The spirit of the club is a unique gift to the local badminton community.

Spoorti Rattan