Mini Olympics at Likas Indoor Stadium, 9-10th August 2008
August 11th, 2008… or rather the 6th Ministry of Finance Sports Carnival, boasting quite a few sporting disciplines.
But the timing was certainly fortuitous. The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was held the night before on the now-famous triple-eight (8/8/2008).
So there we were early the next morning for the opening ceremony, complete with 12 teams, VVIPs, march pasts and oath taking.
Certainly felt like we were holding our very own little Olympics. But this little Olympics lasts much longer than the real Olympics – months in fact for the simple reason that competitions are done on weekends, usually not simultaneously among the disciplines.
Back to the event: after the opening ceremony, the action started with the badminton tournament. I was one of the 15 players in my team, not including the team manager.
If you thought this was beginner-level badminton, it was certainly not. There were a handful of state or ex state players in the fray, plus serious regular enthusiasts, so quite a lot of the matches were worth watching.
By the end of the weekend (around 4.30 pm on Sunday) we’d finished third after defeating the State Treasury 3-2. Ministry of Finance, boasting several state players and more excellent players, as expected became champions for the umpteenth time, overwhelming Sabah Credit Corporation 3-1 (if I got that right).
So you can say that I’ve had a very sporty weekend, indeed it was very enjoyable and a great demonstration of team spirit.
The only question now is whether I’d be fit enough to work on Monday…
Anyway, congratulations to all those involved, with special mention to Yussop and Kamal who endured a tiring doubles match to haul us back into contention.
Ad: one of the bad things about the parking lot of the Likas Indoor stadium and the nearby jogging track is the rampant car break-ins. On Sunday, as we were all going back home, there were at least 2 cars broken into. I wonder if cheap auto insurance also covers break-ins as well as auto accidents?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Note: if your comment does not appear immediately - it is being held in moderation. I will make it visible as soon as possible. Thanks for your comment!
sextuple or hextuple-eight lah LOL
Yeah Yussop/Kamal hauled us from the brink! After 0-2 down, and they are leading 14-9 in rubber set, Kamal/Yussop climbed back to equal 14-14 and that was when the Treasury players crumbled under pressure from the barrage of smashes!
Next competition is 2 years from now. I think you will partner Kamal. Voo will be a veteran by then. The women (Irene/Chia) will be already pencen(?).So need to train the backup woman players!
2 years from now, it could be like this, assuming same format as now:
open: Stevenson/Yussop/Kamal
veteran: Alex/Voo/Don/Kipli/Wahid
officer: Kamal/Ben/Abil
ladies: Jennifer and ????
mixed: Yussop/Alex/Stevenson/Jennifer/???
imagine this…. u all take part in malaysian open…. same venue – likas indoor stadium…
1st round – ben godomon vs lin dan
2nd round – yusop/kamal vs koo kien kiat / tan boon heong
irene/chia vs gao ling / huang sui (china)
papa joneh vs taufik hidayat!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aiyaaa…. the idea is so preposterous it will never happen even in my dreams haha. Friendly match maybe lah, but the world class players will play at quarter speed.
I once played a state-level player at singles in the UK. It was a serious game: he was smashing away like crazy and before I knew it, I was 0-14 down!!!
Even at the carnival there were a few players whose skills and speed were vastly superior to the rest. For example: the MOF vs JBN semifinal. The JBN guys were not bad at all (the usual standard you see at any badminton halls anywhere in the world), but the MOF guys were just too good and handed them under ten scores in both sets.
Sure boleh provided they play with the other hand other than the playing hand OR better still they give 18-point hdcp for each set LOL