Action at the 2010 NCBS Badmintion competition. Credits: K. Parthasarathy. Design: K. Parthasarathy.

Perhaps inspired by the recent spate of sporting events organized by the wildlife contingent in NCBS, some of the badminton regulars felt the time was right for our approximately annual badminton tournament. An email was drafted and entries invited for the standard playing categories i.e. men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. A flurry of excitement followed with players gunning for the best doubles partners and aspiring champions religiously practicing everyday. A schedule was chalked out, not once or twice, but multiple times, as the entries trickled in and players oscillated between playing and not doing so, or having the odd person request a playing spot after having finally convinced someone to play as a partner. As a result, unless you’d seen the daily schedule update in time, you may be in for a surprise!

Badminton is one of the most popular sports played at NCBS. A little known fact is that Badminton is the fastest racquet sport. At the competitive level, speed, strength, agility, good reflexes and stamina are essential to the game. The game’s origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery and have been the subject of dispute. The most popular theory claims it directly descended from the game of battledore and shuttlecock. In the 1600’s, Battledore and shuttlecock was a popular children’s game in England. It soon spread to other parts of Europe where it was known by its French name, Jeu de Volant. The game consisted of two players working together to keep a small, feathered cork, called the shuttlecock, in the air for as long as possible by hitting it with a paddle, the battledore. In India, a game closer to modern badminton, poona, had evolved by the mid-19th century. British army officers in India learnt the game and it soon made its way back to England where it was named badminton.

Ultimate Badminton. Credit: Subhasis Ray.

A post-tournament analysis revealed that a total of 40 players from NCBS participated in the tournament. The rules of play for all matches were set by the organizers and were adapted from the official badminton rules for players in NCBS. According to Vivek, one of the key organizers, “we did not adopt the ‘3 X 21 rally point scoring system’, as we felt it would mask small differences in the caliber of players. Instead, we adopted the "2 X 21 + 15 service point scoring system" so that players don't lose their points at the break of their service while retaining a decently long match.”

After having all the preliminary matches, the semifinals and finals in all five categories were scheduled for the 14th and 15th of August, thus, contributing to the Independence day entertainment. The mixed doubles final match (Shilpa and Vivek vs. Lakshmi and Gaurav) was held as planned on 14th August. This match was the most well attended of the finals and proved to be quite an entertainer, both for the spectators and the players. The two teams were well matched in caliber and predictions were difficult to make. Finally however, Shilpa and Vivek were victorious (21-19; 9-21; 15-11). Unfortunately, the 15th August finale ended up being quite a damp squib. The much awaited men’s singles match, the final match between the top seed Sridhar and Prasanta, could not be played as Sridhar was retired hurt owing to a foot injury he suffered while playing the semi-final match. Prasanta was hence given a walk-over and proclaimed the NCBS men’s singles champion. The men’s doubles final match, Pushkar and Vivek vs. Prasanta and Sayan was played as planned but was severely deprived of audience support. The match was won by Pushar and Vivek (21-16; 11-21; 15-5).

Everyone's a winner. Credit: Subhasis Ray.

This badminton tournament was the first indoor sports tournament to be held in the new NCBS sports complex. This experience has brought some of the maintenance issues to the forefront again. It is essential for users to be responsible and help maintain the facilities provided to us. In particular, we request all players to use non-marking, clean shoes on the wooden courts and avoid scratching the wooden surface by any means.

Finally, a big applause to the students of the organizing committee for putting together this fun event. Here’s hoping for more sporting events at NCBS; there’s rumours of a squash tournament round the corner!