(pronounced:
bol’-eh)
Freely translated, the above
title means “Malaysia OK” and you can often hear it loudly chanted by the
Malaysian supporters at major Badminton tournaments in Malaysia…Unfortunately
at the recent 2007 BWF World Championship in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, the
Malaysian supporters were very much subdued as, apart from the Mens Doubles who
managed to reach the Semi Final stage, no other Malaysian players appeared in the
final stages. Luckily for the Indonesian players, who eventually managed to win
two out of the five events, the Malaysians still come out in big numbers to join
forces with the Indonesian supporters in trying to stop the dominance of the
Chinese players who won the other three events…
The following are notes made
by three of our County players who have been very fortunate to have witnessed
the event, following their two-week training stint in
Click on the one you want to
read……
When I heard we were going back
to Kota Kinabalu this summer I knew we were in for another awesome holiday. For
those of you that don’t know where this is, it is a city in the State (which
what they call their counties) of Sabah on the island of
The days consisted of two sessions, a morning and afternoon one. Each lasted three hours, meaning a total of six hours a day, for nine days! The aeroplane flight wasn’t too bad as the in-flight entertainment kept us occupied for those 15 hours. During those fifteen hours we probably slept between us, one hour. It was good fun but it meant when it came to playing the next day, we weren’t at the peak of our game.
We arrived on Sunday afternoon and after a bit of unpacking we hit the swimming pools and the beach. Unfortunately this was one of the only times that we were able to do so. Although the training only finished at 5pm we were too tired to even think about swimming.
The next day we were supposed to be up at 7 for a 9am start however we overslept slightly so when we were eventually woken up at around 9.15 we got ready as fast as we could and eventually got to the badminton hall at Likas Sports Complex for 10.30, an hour and a half late. Luckily for us the Coach that was taking the morning session (called Malik) was very understanding so we got off easy. Coach said we would start off with an easy session to get us into it. Little did we know that easy to him meant 8 sets of 20 shuttles, where we would constantly hit back to him. Now to some of you, that may not seem too hard but when it’s 35ºC outside and it’s so humid that just walking around makes you sweat, playing becomes slightly more tiring. Fortunately that was it for the morning and we were told that we would start again at 2pm. Because there are no taxis from Likas Sports Complex one of the coaches, called Alan either took us back to the Hotel or to the shopping mall where they had a badminton shop. Most days we would go to the mall as it was easier for Coach Alan and we could also get lunch for the three of us for only £1.50! Compared to the £15-20 we would spend back at the hotel.
As the days went on all this became routine and we started to get used to the heat. The morning sessions always seemed to be the hardest as we were constantly drilled by the coaches which consisted of routines such as 200 smashes or 10 sets of thirty shuttles where the coach would have us running left-right and centre around the court. The afternoon consisted of manly sparring, e.g. game time and the occasional light drill such as another round of 200 smashes! What we all realised about the training out there was that the routines they do are not much different from the ones over here, but it’s the amount they do that makes them so good. Their top players would do the same routine for up to 90 minutes and to our amazement they never seemed tired.
On Wednesday night we were taken to one of the coaches’ village called Papar where we played against their local team. Although overall we won it was a great experience as we got to see a 60 year old veteran champ in action! The match went on until quite late and by the time we arrived back at the hotel after an hour and a half drive and a quick bite to eat at McDonalds it was gone midnight. The next morning we arrived at the training hall tired and weary. When we asked some of the local players if they were tired they quickly replied, “No” and smiled, thinking we were joking. After a relatively easy morning session we found out we were in for a treat this afternoon. There would be no afternoon session but instead we were to meet at the Stadium across the road at 5pm for a bit of running. This proved to be the hardest thing I had ever done as we were made to run a total of 4700m, starting at 100m we progressed to 200m, 400m, 800m and went all the way to 1600m. By the end of this we could barely walk.
When the weekend arrived we were
delighted that we would be able to get some well earned rest. On Saturday we
went on a trip to one of the islands of the
We realised that we couldn’t leave without a bit more hard work so on Thursday night we went running around the track again, this time it didn’t seem so hard either that meant we were getting fitter or the coach was being nice. Afterwards we arranged with some of the guys from the club to meet up at a local bar near our hotel for a few drinks. This was the best night of the whole trip and everyone had a great time but this also meant that it was our last night in Kota Kinabalu so after many goodbye we got a lift back from one of the older players, we weren’t quite sure if he was drunk or not because he seemed fine but his driving was a tad dangerous! Luckily there was no one on the roads and our hotel was less than a mile away.
The next morning we were woken
up early so we had time to finish packing before our flight to
During our four day stay in
We had the next two days to do
what we wanted, and with plenty of shopping malls to chose from, the two days
went quite quickly. Before we knew it we were on our way to the airport yet
again and returning to good old cold and rainy
I’m not sure where to start really. I could start at the very beginning where my parents and I were wandering around Heathrow looking for something that might help us get to where we wanted to be, or I could start with Will, Dom and I screaming and singing on the plane. Such a hard decision.
We arrived at the hotel in
These were just the minor hurdles to jump at the start, but it got easier…until the coaches realised that we weren’t as bad as we looked. Then the pain entered my life, my bed was like…I’m not sure…it just felt awesome to sleep and not to stand up or talk or do anything at all. Sleep is a major highlight of the trip, and of course the really tasty food courts under the shopping mall. We might have been the only white people to have ever eaten there for a decade, but the food tasted wonderful. That was all that counted! Oh, and that it cost less than 50p each!
The shopping malls were
spectacular, shops for absolutely everything…including vibrating stools…and
the most illegal DVD stores I have ever seen in my life. The days seemed slow,
but by the end it seemed to have flown by in a flash. We made some unbelievable
friends out there that we are still in contact with and, of course, we now
understand what real food tastes like.
Enough about the badminton, it was also a holiday (as Franky so frequently reminded us). So snorkelling off a magical island just off our hotel was breath taking. The views from the island were incredible. Light blue, crystal clean water and cloudless skies satisfied our every need. That was only on one day, but hey! The pool was still fancy enough for me! It was fun, having the waiter bring us our food by a cabby, or just having people wait on you hand and foot. Not of course that we would take advantage of that privilege!
Well, as after every trip, thanks are due. The only people I can thank, are Jill, Franky and Dominic! So thank you, for such an awesome experience that has effected me in more ways than one!
On the first day on arriving at Kota Kinabalu was a shock in itself. We walked outside to get a taxi to our hotel and I was hit with intense heat and humidity which made me take a few steps back and think on what the training side of this journey will entail for me.
Monday morning it was time to meet all the Coaches and players for the first time. I had heard so much from just people talking about the standard of play and the high respect for the Coaches out there compared to back home in England. It didn’t take long for the players to warm up to us coming into their world of badminton and their life which was a great insight for me to understand on how much badminton means to them, not just as a player but as a team as well. Something that I can relate to myself.
There was so much fight and determination when it came to training and even more when it came to match play. They really showed that they wanted to win even if it was just a light warm up match, they still put all their might into the game which was great to watch but not good if you were the opponent on the other side of the net!!!!!!
When I started the coaching I quickly found that I was in for a very long 11 days of hard and punishing training. Each day became harder and harder with adding on some extra shuttles here and training for a little bit longer. In England I would practice 200 shots on full court exercises, in Malaysia 1000 is expected of you!!!!!
It soon added up when the day was over. Sometimes I just wanted to pack my bags and set off home there and then but I’m glad that I stayed for the duration and knuckled down hard and shone through the other side. I am very proud with myself for finishing the 11 hard days. When I look back on the training and the time I was there, I realize that I hadn't really even touched the surface of the full training out there. In order to take on and appreciate the amount of training and coping with the heat you need at least two months. I think then I would see some big changes into my game.
Malaysia is a wonderful and beautiful country. The people are courteous and friendly. I have made some great friends who I hope to keep in touch with.
I was very lucky to go with Franky, Jill and Dominic who welcomed me into their family and I would like to say A BIG THANKYOU TO YOU ALL
I would thoroughly recommend this opportunity of a life time experience. You will not regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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