Thomas Cup 2014

The embodiment of victory, the pride of nations, the success of players. This is what they're after. The Thomas Cup. You can see it in the eyes of players, that burning desire, that blazing spirit of a fighter who would strive as hard as possible to bring it back to their own lands.

But behind those blazing inferno you see, there are something more inside them players. I wonder how they feel when a match is about to start. Anxious? Nervous? Confident? And how they feel during a match. And what does one feel when one does mistakes like out balls. Especially when the whole world is watching. When the whole nation hopes on you. When you're in the last match which will determine whose hands the Thomas Cup will be in. When the points are so close and your opponent has the game point.

That pressure. With the eyes of your country and the eyes of people around the world on you, that pressure must be so much heavier than being squashed by a big Yeti.

And I wonder how they feel after a match. What do they feel when they win? Proud? Happy? Outstanding? What about when they lose? Disappointed? Hopeless? Useless? Do players quit because they lose one Thomas Cup match? Or do they keep calm and dig out their mistakes and learn from them?

I watched the match between Daren Liew and Takuma Euda. It was quite an interesting match, and a sad one too, but also a beautiful one. When Daren Liew lost points or made mistakes, I was like OH NO PLEASE NO FOCUS LIEW FOCUS. And I wonder if that was also what he had on his mind. Or not. And when Euda nailed 21 on the last round, Liew dropped his badminton racket. Was that disappointment? Sorrow? Anger? The racket slipped out of his grip gently. Like someone letting go of a rope he held on for so long, knowing that no one's going to pull him up, and let himself fall into a black pit. I might have exaggerated this but that's just what came to my mind. I wonder what his coach would say to him. What he'd say to his coach. I wonder what people think of him. What Takuma thinks. What Japanese thinks. What the whole world thinks. And what he himself thinks of what other people think of him.

But still, our players are awesome. All players are pretty awesome. Being able to summon up courage and play while the whole world watches. Being able to gather people together to witness the same wonderful thing. Being able to spark up positive spirits in people. And becoming an inspiration to many around the world. These players are amazing. Badminton is amazing.

Thomas Cup is undeniably amazing.