Nottingham Malaysian Games 2008

grrrrr

I spent nearly one hour just now to compose a new entry! ishk, and then, due to my clumsiness, the whole thing was deleted. cit, and then, i need to find the mood again to write about the same thing. cit!

herk....

tarik nafas, lepas...tarik, lepas~~

Bismillah.

For the first time, I went to Nottingham for the prestigeous Nottingham Malaysian Games 2008. Heheh, main badminton (lagi? hahaha). Yup, I took part in singles, Moon and Patrick in mixed doubles while Ariff and basir in men singles. We all lost in the early rounds, heheh.

But winning is not as important as taking part in the game (well, if you win, it's a bonus, kan?). I'm really proud with my contingent, they have a very high sport spirit; the netball team, the football team (which combines students from Marjon and Uni Plymouth) and the badminton team all deserve a big round of applause from everyone. Oh ya! Don't forget the supporters who loyally stay by our side to give us support and continuous help. thank you~~~

The journey to Nottingham started at midnight, 7th Nov. Everybody was in their black/blue black attire, with a bundle of food stuffed in the bags. I wasn't sure what to bring, so I packed my bag with all the toiletries and some clean clothes, .....and some food....and drinks....and chocolate. hehehe...oya! the travel sickness nyer tablets...The seat was stiff, but that didn't really bother me; i could sleep in any circumstances...escpecially when I'm nerveous (the mind just shut down).

We arrived at about 5.30am on the 8th November. Too early for sure, so we stayed/slept in the bus until 6.15am. I was too hungry, so before 6.15, i already finished all the sandwiches prepared earlier. Huhu.

When it was around 8 am, the surrounding became clearer. And, believe me, it was a beautiful place. The leaves were mostly in their autumn colours, driving most of us insane taking pictures here and there. I was the one who couldn't let my hand off the camera. Cantik sangat~~ Marjon? Tak kuning semua, tau-tau dah gugur ke bumi ishk.

cepat!cepat!senyum~~

ishk hahahha korang asyik nak tengok belakang

gune timer, senyum~~

I played singles, Basir and Ariff also in singles while Moon and Patrick played mixed doubles. None of us could manage to pass through the prelimenary round. I lost in second round to Sharon from Cambridge. I thought I could win, but because she could answer all my strokes, I went blank. I didn't know what to do. I didn't play like I used to play. I lost my rhythm. Well, I did fight, but it wasn't good enough. Tak ade rezeki. Well, ada la sekali terbuat 'split' masa nak ambil shuttle kat jaring, errr, and everyone macam *gasp*! Oh, unfortunately, I didn't hit the shuttle hard enough to let it fly over the net...haih...

I know I have 'stage fright', and every time during competition, I had to fight it. The heart beats so fast, that at some points of time, u feel like your chest is going to explode and you're going to collapse. Lucky for me, there were two dear friends who kept gosok-ing my back to calm me down. In the court, I had to rely on my self, as my hands were shaking LOL. I wonder if other participants felt like me, and how they could overcome it is something I would like to hear.

All and all, it was a great experience. Worth the amount of money we spent for the long journey. I met a couple of my ex-schoolmates there, Salam and Lim Sin Wee. hahaha, both are brilliant students, straight As scorers, and both indulge in the world of badminton. I made new friends; from Sunderland , from Southampton and from Nottingham; no suprise, they are all Malaysians.

Hmm...one good thing I could feel was I didn't see the gap between races there among Malaysians; which in Malaysia was a big issue being heated over and over again for the political gains. Di sini, kurang tekanan dari pihak-pihak yang tertentu. Bebas dari kongkongan mak ayah, bebas dari tekanan politik dan bebas dari belenggu 'adat dan budaya' melampau setiap kaum. Di sini tiada siapa kenal diri mereka, di sini, mereka boleh memilih identiti sendiri. Dan kerana itulah, kebebasan memilih identiti (mungkin tidak relevan untuk MARJON), menyebabkan saya sukar mengenalpasti keturunan pelajar-pelajar yang saya temui di Nottingham. Tapi, tak mengapa. Bangsa tak sepenting agama. Kerana agama itu sahaja yang membezakan antara kita.

It was a silent ride to Plymouth. Everyone was too tired, everyone just wanted the comfortable bed in the room. I just wanted to sleep. So, it wasn't long before I went to my dreamland. OH! No dream, it was a deep sleep. Only KaE stayed awake until we arrived in MARJON. kesian... terpaksa stay awake sorang-sorang...

cis, sempat pulak main game time berehat sekejap

It was fun, and interesting to see lots of young Malaysians in such event. I'm hoping to come back again, with better aim in badminton. And if we have time, stroll around the University and snap some more pictures. hehehe amin...