World class act

When there is an opportunity, and we know that we can take it, we shouldn't let the chance flies away. It applied in every aspect. Literally.

The recent Thomas Cup which was held in Malaysia was my opportunity to experience some real badminton matches by professional players, locally or internationally. It was a real opportunity for me as in: 1) held in Bukit Jalil which was an easy spot for me to go to 2) the date of the competition, 9-16th May, is a holiday for me and 3) it was affordable (much cheaper compare to Formula 1 ticket). I grabbed the chance by buying 2 tickets for final day of the competition. Initially, I plan to get RM 103's seat, which is the first row near to the court, but I couldn't get it. So I ended up getting a RM 73 seat, 2nd row higher. Haiz.

My younger brother was supposed to go with me, but at last, he didn't make it, cos his exam is around the corner. Although my father is an avid badminton player, I know he wouldn't want to if I asked him in the first place, or should I said, ask for his permission, before I buy the tickets. And I was totally right about it. I told him I will be going the day I reached home and he said 'What's the use of going there with a lot of crowd when you can watch it live at home?' I told him it will be a different experience, since I've 'experienced' this type of situation before (I went to watch Formula 1 at Sepang before, so I know how it feel). And now, since my brother needs to do revision, my father have to go with me. =)

So, on Sunday, the final day of the competition where China meets Indonesia, we went out at 12 noon, to get a better seat in Stadium Putra, although the game will only start at 2pm. We reached at about 12.45 noon, and it was already crowded. With Indonesian. The door to the stadium only opened at 1pm. It's hard to go through the small door with a lot of people. We took the seats behind the umpire. Literally. Few meters behind it, though. LOL. But from where I sat, I can see the court clearly, and of course, the players. It was a good seats, my father said. Because we can see both sides of the courts. The seats for the teams who took part in this competition was on the left side, below the VVIP seats. At this time, the Chinese teams were already in their seats, and there were 2 players training in the main court. Around 1.30 pm, all the Chinese players who were named to play against the Indonesian, and their coaches, went to the court and make a round, and had a cheer for themselves before going into the backstage. Whereas all these times, the Indonesian players who were going to play against the Chinese, stayed out from the spectators, all this while staying in the backstage.

1.45pm

National anthem, Negaraku was played. The Thomas cup was in front of me, and the crowd was getting high. These Indonesian spectators are real crazy supporters. It happens in all sports that involved Indonesian players. They shout, they sing, they wave flags, they wave banners, they boo, and they hah, to make people nervous.

1.55pm

The umpire, service judge and linesmen walked in. The umpire and service judge walked into the court while the linesmen took their seats. And then, Lin Dan, the first single player from China, walked into the court. After putting his bag, he walk towards the umpire and service judge, and then waits for Taufik Hidayat to come out. They exchange gift, before umpire throwing a coin to see who has the chance to make the first serve. And then, they started to warm up, for 3-5 minutes.

3-5 minutes later...

and the first game of the very first match started!! Obviously, it was totally a different feeling compared with watching in front of the television. There's the crowd wooing and booing, and the whole environment was totally different. It has the feel, the excitement. It was a match where both players played their very best, although it seems to me that Lin Dan dominate the whole match, and Taufik was kind of being bully. So Lin Dan won in straight sets. But I know Taufk took the match seriously. I mean, there's no player want to lose in a competition.

Second and third match were the real games, where the two teams exchange points, and they only differ a few points to each other. Most of the crowd cheered for the Indonesian, but I still stick to my Chinese players, especially the double players, whom are my idols. Though adrenaline still pump and move as fast as they could, this time around, I was not that kan jiong. I used to be very kan jiong whenever the Chinese team played, as I want them to win badly. But now, my feeling is that, it doesn't matter win or lose, as long as they had play their very best. But the doubles match is always the best match to watch compared to the singles. They moved around very fast, and their opponent's defense were great. Totally great!

After 3 hours of fighting, China was the winner for this year's Thomas Cup. The 3 first matches were all won buy China, so there is no need to play the 4th and 5th match. I got to see they celebrate, through my own eyes. It was totally a different feeling, indescribable.

It was an exiting moment for me, as I finally realized one of my dream: seeing my idols through my naked eyes. From this competition too, I got to see the world class act by those world class players. All of the day's players are really great players. They have their skills, and it's a very serious stuff for them: displayed a good match for their country and their fans. They showed their determinations to get each points, the power to overcome the pressures from the fans and themselves. It was really a world class act, where my dad finally agree with me that it was totally a different feeling watching live at the stadium, and it was much better watch it there. When we reach home, daddy said this: Next time we go watch live again! Roger, daddy!!! =)