Hi,

Let me introduce myself in a bizarre way that completely matches how I am 😉

I am a 32 yr old female System Administrator – so not a very sporty person, in fact – just 5 yrs ago I weighed nearly 150kg (should be almost 24stone?). I had a gastric bypass and lost half of me, literally. Needless to say, sport at that point wasn’t physically possible, which aggravated my, well, dire situation. Due to the weight loss, I don’t look very nice (my body resembles a water balloon when I jump or run) and combine that with self-esteem issues and then you get 5 yrs of not being overweight and still not daring to do sports.

Fast forward a little more; my niece convinced me to try badminton in our local club. It’s just a walk away, so the threshold is fairly low and we have 2 play days a week. So I enrolled and the first training I realised badminton was a little harder then I thought it would be – but the damage was done; I fell in love with the sport. Now we’re at me counting the days and hours to the next play moment; even though I am a horrible player and those doubling with me are bound to lose.

The strangest thing happens on court – of all the worries and fears I have about people seeing me and mocking me – none remain. There’s only the shuttle and the people on court with me. My only regret is waiting this long before I started playing.

A friend of mine, who played tennis for over 30 yrs, told me that because of weaker knees (obesity will do that to a body) I should invest in proper badminton shoes – which I did the weekend thereafter. And she was right. While the shoes aren’t perfect, it’s a lot better and so far my knees or ankles haven’t buckled even once. (Except for that one lunge that was a bit overkill and my knee actually slammed into the floor.)

I wonder though, am I abnormal for trying to read up on technique and trying some at home? I am standing in the kitchen for hours trying to get the moves right. I actually practiced getting the shuttle of the floor with my racket 😛 I watch videos and try to copy the movement, things like that. I’m even trying rope skipping to improve my legs’ muscle mass/strength.

I guess I just wanted to pour out these things to people who hopefully understand it somewhat. I’ve had a lot of people laugh when I call it a sport – but after 2 hrs of really trying to play (I’ve played against people who’ve played for years), you will call it a harsh sport with zero room for thought on what to do. It’s all reaction and blink of an eye action. It’s a wonderful and energetic sport.

So hello everyone; thank you! For allowing me to peek into how you play. It’s nice to read.

ps. Apologies for ranting and being overly happy about this.