Post Match Ramblings 200307

Played a best-of-5 match with Meng Ooi today and I lost 2-3 (10-8, 3-9, 7-9, 9-7, 6-9). The game ended with some fluke shot from him. Haha.

I enjoyed myself. I was hitting relatively tight shots and moving quite smoothly. I found myself volleying and attacking loose shots more often now. My efforts in badminton seemed to be paying off. However I was not competent in directing my volleys. Quite a number of shots either hit the tin or came out loose. I need to be able to place my volleys much better.

I was watching my balance quite a bit. I had the habit of moving off the T before the opponent hit. Resulted in quite a number of rallies lost, especially when he pushed the ball front off my service. I also tended to be unbalanced when going in for the front shots. Rushing. That unbalance caused delay in returning to the T and a brief moment of attention lapse. If Meng Ooi were to attack the return, I would have problems getting to the ball.

I played well in patches. For short periods, I was focused and really into the game. Then my thoughts would start drifting and suddenly I would realised that I had lost quite a few points. The gaps in attention definitely need to be shortened and eventually eliminated. Well, these gaps are also the reason why I am unable to type a full match report now. I can only recall snippets of the game. Too much of the time I was just not there.

Well, that intense but relaxed focus ... I am slowly building it up. And enjoying the process. =)