the national sport

Last friday evening we played badminton.  Not the backyard kind of badminton with cheap rackets and plastic birdies (that always flew over into the neighbors yard).  The serious kind.

Every Malaysian knows how to play badminton.  Nearly half of the gear in the sports stores here are dedicated to badminton.  Did you know badminton has special shoes?  And that badminton players are called "shuttlers"?  I didn't even know how to spell badminton until a few days ago, which is why I am trying to type it as much as possible now.  Badminton!  

Playing doubles on the badminton court

Malaysia's only Olympic medals are badminton (4 to date)!  Lee Chong Wei, the silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics, is now a national hero.  We often drive past the "National Badminton Stadium" when we're in KL.  When Reuben was in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic games, what sport did he go see?  Badminton, of course.  Badminton, badminton, badminton!

Consensus: it was pretty fun.  The people I was playing with were gracious enough to be patient with me.  The gym was wicked hot, though, and they don't open the doors or turn on fans in order not to disturb the trajectory of the shuttlecock.  They start at 8:30 and play till around 11.  Whew!  That's way too late for me.