My First Badminton Tournament I Story By Ishaan,13,Chennai

My First Badminton Tournament 

I love to play sports and badminton is my favourite, it’s more than just a game for me—it keeps me active, helps me relieve stress, and allows me to spend quality time with my friends. Every time I step onto the court, I feel alive, as if all my worries fade away and I’m in the moment.

The day was 22nd June, your typical end of summer day. There was an event being held that day, one that changed my life. I am a pretty good player in Badminton but the journey towards my goals is what deserves a mention here. Up until then, I had no exposure in the field of becoming a professional badminton player. No one had ever bothered taking me to a tournament and it felt as though I was playing badminton for timepass.

All that changed a week prior to the tournament. My coach registered me and my colleagues for a tournament. You bet I was over the moon that night. I came regularly for practice and tried my best to get prepped up for the big day. That Saturday night, the night before the tournament, I was anxious and nervous about my performance. I couldn’t help but think about it. Nonetheless I took a good rest in preparation for the tournament. 

The next morning my mother made me my favourite noodles which enlightened my mood greatly. We left an hour prior to the reporting time as the venue was at a distant place. The car ride felt longer than I would have expected. Though my close companion and my parents were accompanying me; the buildings, cars, and surroundings appeared to talk to me as if it had two faces. One side praised me as if I was the world champion while the other demotivated me as if I didn’t know a thing or two about badminton. My parents and the people around me seemingly felt ignorance towards this two-sided talk cooked up by my own anxiety. I was panicking inside and all the motivation prep-talk I received from my coach, my parents and my friends, all of it turned to dust. This anxiety attack really affected my performance, the first match I played was against a taller guy with a lot of experience. This, as well as the two-faced buildings,cars and surroundings fueled my anxiety. I lost the first match and managed to win the second match but it was too late as my chance to quarters were done for. 

Being the nervous wreck I was, I started crying. My parents consoled me, my coach did and even my friends did but nothing seemed to take me out of the pit of misery I was stuck in. I cried myself to sleep that night. Looking back on it though, showed me a third side to the two-faced buildings, cars and surroundings. This side told me that I was perfect the way I was and there are a few things I must work on to make me a better person. This showed me that amidst the two sides of overconfidence and lack of confidence, there was a side of resilience. I discovered my true capacity and I was determined to keep working hard despite my successes and failures.

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