A good day

I got this email through the mailing list this morning.

On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Arch Nemesis wrote:

Nemesis#2,

didn't realize it but yesterday was our first zero loss performance.

Regards
Arch Nemesis

So, I replied with a short message:

Oh that makes me want to try harder. Today, you won't be so lucky :D

You see, I had always been the big dog in our little pack. That is until Arch Nemesis joined our club a few months back. Since then, I had been losing more games than I won against Arch Nemesis. So I decided I'd do something about it today.

When I got home from work, I went straight to the shower. The AC in the office dries me up and I just wanted to feel refreshed today. Next, I had a good snack. Nothing special, just a pack of boiled noodles but it keeps my energy levels up. I packed my gear and got to the courts early. I was the first person there.

I lost the first game we played. I didn't mind that because my partner in that game wasn't my usual partner.

Next game, I partnered up with my usual partner against Arch Nemesis and Nemesis#2. I had my game plan ready and that was to use Patience (see my post on Patience). My nemeses love to play a fast game. They always try to take advantage of my slower partner. So I asked my partner to slow the shuttle speed at every opportunity.

My game plan is simple. Play a tight game, create our own opportunities and set up smashes for each other. We were surprised when we won that game without much effort.

We switched partners and played the next game with the same result. In every game, I was in control and defeated Arch Nemesis in every set. I was in the zone and was serving very well. My drops were at the right height and depth. My half-smashes kept the opposition on the defensive. Even my defence improved. That had a lot to do with being in the right place and on time. I wasn't worried about covering my partner because I was more confident. I knew the opposition did not have plenty of time to play the smash.

The last game of the night was a bit more challenging. We were down 17-20 against Arch Nemesis and Nemesis#2. The possibility of losing the game crossed my mind but I was not overly concerned. I knew that when people reach game-point, they relax and wait for their opponents to make a mistake (I do that too sometimes). So I just asked my partner to get the serve in. I was determined to not make any mistakes. I was not about to let Arch Nemesis take the last game of the day. Mentally, I was calm like I had been the whole evening. My partner served well and we played the rallies. I did not try to make any quick killing shots. A mistake could have cost us the game. We caught up to 20-20 in a short time. At this point, our opponents knew they were in trouble. They were under pressure at deuce, with us in possession of the serve. There was no possibility for them to wait out our mistakes now because it appeared we weren't making any. My partner and I played consistently and won the final two points in succession. At the end of that match, I was so happy I let out a whoop! It was a perfect end to a great evening of badminton.

Today's performance should reinstate my position as the top dog and I intend to stay at the top. If I play consistently and stick to my game plan, I should do fine. I do not intend to have another horrible day as described in this post: A horrible day