The members of the Ohio State Buckeye Badminton Club have their rackets ready for a weekend full of competitions at the RPAC.
The first of these events is an open tournament for OSU students and faculty at 4:30 p.m. today. The tournament will feature men’s and women’s singles and doubles matches and is open for individuals of all skill levels.
“I hope the event can draw everyone’s attention to this sport,” said Yun Lee, a graduate student in East Asian languages and literature and a member of the Badminton club. “I also hope that we can recruit some good players too.”
Lee, who has been a member of the club since fall 2008, emphasized the skill and discipline required for the sport.
“It requires not only physical fitness but also good coordination with partners and a lot of strategies,” she said. “A good player has to train regularly to obtain and maintain the skills.”
Surya Chakrabarti shares a similar belief.
“The sport involves a lot of smart thinking and strategy,” said Chakrabarti, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and president of the Badminton club. “All this, combined with a great group of friends who share the same passion, makes the sport so exciting to me.”
Following the open tournament, the Intercollegiate Badminton Association will host the 2010 Men and Women Team Championships at 6 p.m. The tournament is open to all USA Badminton Collegiate Club members.
“We want OSU students to see what competitive badminton looks like,” Chakrabarti said.
One of the greatest moments for Chakrabarti came last year at the Inter-Collegiate Championships in Gary, Ind.
“In the finals, I had a marathon match against one of the best players from University of Illinois at Chicago,” he said. “Everyone had gathered around the court with all the UIC players cheering for their players and all my team members cheering for me.”
Chakrabarti triumphed over his opponent in the match.
“That has been one of my favorite memories so far,” he said.
The weekend will conclude with the OSU Spring Challenge Inter-club Team Championships, which begin at 10 a.m Saturday and last until Sunday. This tournament features challenges from badminton clubs across the Midwest.
“We have had a very positive response and a huge participation from colleges, teams and players across mainly the Midwest and some nationwide,” said Shubh Deshpande, a graduate student in computer science and engineering and a member of the Badminton Club. “The level of play is continuously improving among all players.”
The Buckeye Badminton Club recently placed second in the Inter-Collegiate Friendly tournaments at Purdue last month and is ranked second in the Great Lakes Region in the U.S.
All of this weekend’s badminton tournaments will take place at the North Gym in the RPAC. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of each tournament.
The public is invited to come and watch the events for free.
