Tochi's Hut

Round 1 of a badminton tournament I've been participating in is over. The preliminary round featured everyone into groups of 4, playing round robin style within the group. Ranking in your group determines your respective pool for next round, with top 3 advancing.

In singles action, I managed to finish with a respectable 2-1 record, good enough for Pool B in Round 2! Given the limited number of courts, I hardly ever play singles matches. Man, playing three sets without any breaks is quite draining. My first match was against the group favourite. The guy has a deadly drop shot, which effectively took care of me. Dueling drop shots isn't my forte, and clearing behind him == setting him up for a smash. My second match-up was against someone who is technically more skilled than me. However, my stamina was better, so I manage to tire him out and take the game. The extra weekly squash regiment is finally yielding some benefits. One thing I need to improve on is the ability to finish a person off when I'm ahead. That last point takes so much effort for some reason. Last game was against a weaker opponent, so I didn't have much trouble.

Doubles action didn't go as well, as I lost both my matches. The pairs I went up against were very skilled players, so my partner and I didn't stand much of a chance. It's pretty amazing when some people can play on a totally different level. My third match-up was defaulted, since the other team didn't show up. Team Tochi advances to Pool C of round 2. :)

Overall, I'm really enjoying the competition. Playing where points matter is a different pressure, especially when you are dead tired but have to play on. Round 2's competition looks very stiff, but hopefully I'll be able to pull off some upsets. :)