Badminton was the Best!

During the pandemic, we had Kate (still in high school) and Anna (had been in NYC but came home) living with us.  We were lucky to have a modest yard so that, even during the darkest days and most stringent restrictions, we were able to get some outdoor exercise and fresh air.  Badminton was our game of choice.  It works well with four people.  It doesn't require as much space as tennis or as pristine a surface as pickleball.  All of us were adequate but no better, so we were pretty evenly matched.  And we happened to already have all of the equipment.  

Our routine often involved gathering for lunch after a morning of remote work/school, eating something quick, and heading to the yard for a few hotly-contested games of badminton, before returning to work/school.  We didn't improve much beyond "adequate," but we definitely got better over those months and came to appreciate at least some of the joys and nuances of the game.

So, just like table tennis, which I discussed in an earlier post, my personal experience and fond memories of the sport enhanced the anticipation of seeing live world-class badminton played at the Olympics.  And, also like table tennis, I was not disappointed.  

We had tickets to see the medal rounds of women's badminton.  We had no particular stake in the outcome (the bronze medal match was Malaysia v. Japan and the gold/silver match was between two teams from China), but were excited to just see it.

I loved the overhead slams whizzing off of the racket heads, the feints and fakes, the way the speeding birdie would catch a bit of wind and almost stop mid-air to float slowly down.  And I especially loved the improbable digs and saves and the impossibly long points.  (The longest point of the first match was 73 strokes over 79 seconds.  I didn't see what it was in the second match, but I think it was longer.)

Earlier in the day, we walked over with Sandy to see the rolling start of the men's bicycle road race.  The course started at the Eiffel Tower with a pace car leading the cyclists for a couple of miles until the official start at the intersection of Boulevard Saint Michel and Rue Gay Lussac, just a five-minute walk from our apartment.  Here they are coming. 

You can see that we were right up next to the course and could have touched the riders as they came by.  But we didn't have the best seats.  Notice the spectators in the apartment windows in the photo below.

The 170-mile course wound its way through Paris, out to the countryside, and back into town, so we could have caught glimpses of the riders near our apartment a few hours later as they were coming in for the finish, if we had not been at the badminton matches then.  

Tomorrow, Sunday, will be a day of rest for us.  We could use it.  We continue to be impressed by the Paris Olympics and to be enjoying our time tremendously!