Badminton fever - All England 2009

Been a badminton fan since i was young. I still remember the days where i would beg my dad to go and play badminton with me in the garden. A sport that was in my blood since a young age. My dad told me that when i was a a little boy ( i dont even remeber this) he took me to the stadium in Malaysia and watched badminton tournaments. Since than, i played badminton throughout the years enjoyed watching badminton tournaments. Although im not a very good badminton player but i still enjoy playing it.

In year 2009, i was in the UK pursuing my degree when the All-England 2009 super series took place in Birmingham. I guess you could call it faith or coincidence, i went and watch the quater finals. My heart was feeled with pride and joy as i would be cheering for the Malaysian badminton team. So i bought the tickets to the game, booked a train ticket to Birmingham and had a hearty lunch before the tournament. Lady luck was on my side as i was eating in the same restaurant with the Malaysian and Indonesian national badminton team. Now let me elaborate the atmostphere in the restaurant. I ordered my meals, my heart was beating at 200 beats per minute, i can feel the andrelin rushing through my veins, my heart was shouting with joy, i was shaking with excitement and the best part was trying my very best to act all cool about it. With the Malaysian number 1 and world number 1 player seating less than 6 meters away from me i almost ran over and hugged him to see if it was really Lee Chong Wei.

Summoning all my courage, i went over with some of my friends and asked to take a few picture with the Malaysian team. They kindly obliged and i was overwhelmed. The story does not end here, we took pictures too with China National player Lin Dan and his girlfriend which we bumped on the road. Throughout the day in Birmingham, we bumped into alot of badminton stars.

Finally, it was time to go for the tournaments and it was really fun to shout and cheer for your home country players in a foreign land. I did shout, i did clap.. so much so i had a bad sore throat after the games and was down with fever for a week. A pity i couldnt go for the finals as my assignments are pilling up and it was rather expensive to go for 2 tournaments. But i did went online and watch the final cheering for Malaysian team back in cheltenham infront of my 14" lcd screen. Being a Malaysian~ I will always always support my national badminton team. I am particular proud of this nation. A nation filled with various races, living in harmony. A nation that i grew up in. A nation filled with yummy food.
Malaysia boleh~