I returned after witnessing a miracle at the pond.

“What! Badminton in Los Angeles?” … You may ask.

Badminton is not exactly well covered by the US media. But it is immensely popular in California amongst the Asians … Popular enough that some rich guys had enough influence to get the IBF (International Badminton Federation) to hold it in LA.

In any case, I booked tickets for the entire week as soon as it was announced. Due to work, I could not go for all of that time; but decided to attend from the quarter finals onwards.

I stayed in the same hotel as the players. So I was taking the bus with them to and from the stadium. The hotel guests (Disneyland crowd) couldn’t care less about who these guys and had no idea they were amongst the fittest atheletes on the planet … For badminton is, without doubt, one of the most aerobically demanding of any sport. A sport in which the Danish superstar, Peter Gade, is already considered past his prime at the ripe old age of twenty eight.

Anyway the relative anonymity of these mega stars of the badminton galaxy was a curious situation itself. I would round a corner at the hotel and run bang into this top player, or that, looking a bit lost and ignored in the crowd. One night when I was waiting for the bus, another guy was lounging in the corner, with his racquet bag, virtually ignored. When somebody finally went and talked to him, I recognized him to be the all time greats in doubles, Candra Wijaya, who had won virtually every prize there was to win … All England, World Badminton, Olympics. Finally I plucked up enough courage to go and wish him the best in the coming matches … he was a shy boy and far from the raging tiger i had seen leaping around on the court.

People had come from far and wide to see the matches. All the folks next to me had booked their seats for the entire week too.

The person to the right of me was a Malaysian settled in Canada, who had flown in from Toronto. The person to the left was an American, who had driven down from Santa Barbara.

The Malaysian lobby around us were busy pounding their chests and proclaiming the number of medals they would win … Patronizingly giving tips to the American who was avidly drinking it all in.

But when the matches started, I noticed he had a keen eye and analyzed the rallies more dispassionately and accurately than our emotional, chest pounders. For instance, he pointed out to me that Candra and his partner often shifted to a rather uncoventional grip high up on the handle during the rally.

India had lost its matches in the first round. So I threw my lot in with the American cheering section. The US doubles team had progressed to the quarters. They consisted of Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan. Bach is a born in the USA citizen who was nowhere in the world rankings. Along comes Tony. Tony is no stranger to the World Badminton stage. He was the top doubles player in Indonesia with his partner, the afore mentioned Candra. He had won just about every prize in badminton too (World, All England, Olympics … ).

Soon there came a time when then Indonesians considered him too old. So he decided to hang up his racket and pursue computer science in Southern California. A wealthy businessman in LA, persuaded him to coach part time.

Tony eventually became the head coach of the US…But he soon found out he was better than all the players around. So he started playing with Howard as his partner. Still they were not tipped to go far. But here they were in the quarters. In the quarters, they took on the top seeded Danish pair and upset them in straight sets. “Never mind”, the Malaysian lobby chipped in, “the Danish were rattled by the crowd” … the US will face reality in the semis where they would take on an Indoensian pair. But it was not to be. Instead the Malaysian pair went down tamely while the US pair took out the Indonesians to set up a final with the top Indonesian pair of Candra Wijaya and his partner.

For Tony, it was bitter sweet; here he was playing against his home country in the finals. What is more, across the net was none other than his old partner, best friend & mentor-Candra. They embraced awkwardly before the match. There was a poignant moment just before the first shot was played, when both of them smiled at each other awkwardly & saluted the other, across the net, with their rackets.

As the match progressed Tony’s influence was pretty clear. He controlled the rallies from the net. Doubles at this level is unimaginably fast … the TV replays showed most rallies had shots timed above 150 mph. By comparison the fastest recorded serve in Tennis,attributed to Andy Roddick, is less than 150 mph.

By now our Malaysian friends had resigned themselves to Malaysia not winning anything this year… They threw in their lot with us. They argued the US winning something should be good for the future of badminton. After all the big money is missing from badminton. Perhaps if the US gets involved, that would change.

As for the American and me, we were hoarse from all the cheering. Finally, egged on by the sell out crowd, the US pair took out the Indonesians and won their first ever gold medal in Badminton. The American and I embraced this joyous occasion … I never learned his name.

In a sense here in the microcosm of the badminton court was what was best about the US of A. Isn’t Tony’s story what the US has been all about? Embracing the best the world had to offer with open arms and giving them an enivronment to thrive in … I wonder how long that will continue in technology and other fields, though.

Our Malaysian cheering section couldn’t resist a last dig: “Enjoy it now; this the last medal you are going to win for a while.”

I returned to my hotel room and tuned in eagerly to the TV, only to find all the channels totally ignored what had happened. Instead, they were covering a Tango competition in Argentina!

Is one permitted to reproduce unoriginal material while taking a break from trying to become the bard, accidentally, by following Papi’s method?

Anyway someone sent me this today and i wanted to share it before i forgot….

Thought for the day:

There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer’s research. This means that by 2040 there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them…. If you don’t send this to five old friends right away there will be five fewer people laughing in the world!!!!

Rod Laver, is the measure that everyone pulls out when you encounter someone with historic potential. One does not have to go too far back in time when this was done. But Pete Sampras lacked the all court, all surface, all departments greatness that Laver and Roger bring to the table, although Pete was probably the greatest server of all time.

In a game that has come to be dominated by powerful serves and short rallies, Roger has recaptured some of the balletic elegance and style of yesteryears…

Perhaps the greatest compliment to Roger’s game is that Rod Laver himself considers it an honor that he is being compared against Roger. But more than his game, he is a champion in his comportment… A true gentleman. Everyone considers him a class act with no airs and a beguiling charm. He is invariably respectful to all his rivals; he corrects line calls in favor of his opponent; he contributes time and money to worthy causes…the list goes on.

Although players are in awe of playing him, he is universally well liked in the locker room. As Andy Roddick puts it “I would like to hate you; but you are too nice”.

Here is to many more championships to come…