Yonex Australian Badminton Open!

Yay! So I'm blogging, which means I was actually being really un-tech-savy but THAT'S OK. No one needs to know the details.

From 116___04

Yay, a picture. It's all working now.

A lot of people around me are going overseas this year for some reason. A few friends is normal, but this time, it seems like more than just a few friends. Heck, my parents have a trip planned ahead too. Me? First year being out at work, it's kinda hard to take leave, but that's ok, I have my own form of enjoyment. Actually, too many forms of enjoyment, I'm finding it hard to find time to do actual work, like practicing music.

From 116___04

Easter break was spent going to church and badminton. This was a quick lunch before heading to the Yonex Australian Badminton Open, Quarterfinals. It was the only day we could make it actually, the finals was on Sunday, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice my own badminton play time AND $100 to watch it, haha.

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TokyoMario from Strathfield. They even provide pickles!

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It was this set this, you can get two mains and a drink for a certain price. Forgot price. Bulgogi pizza was interesting =D

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Yonex ppl! There was a stall set up by Stadium Sports I think (it wasn't Calibre, I was thinking they should have set up a rivalry stall next to it, cos this one had no competition, it was making heaps of business). Saw the new Voltric Z force etc etc etc that apparently has unmatched magical powers that enhance your smashes to destroy all opponents... and I exaggerate. But so does the advertisement.

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Random: happy stamp. Entrance evidence!

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And those who don't play badminton can proceed to the "close" button. Kenichi Hayakawa, Japan. Doubles player.

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He was practicing some shots on the courts beforehand and his aim is impeccable. Standing at the base line, he can serve the shuttle to the opposite base line, corner- middle- other corner.

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Fake Hidayat.

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At the practice courts, Korea's women double practicing.

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Also at the practice court, a very aggressive China mixed double team- Ying Luo and Cheng Liu. Beside them- Japan's Kenichi Hayakawa and Misaki Matsumoto. First match of the day too.

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Who was this again?

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Super tall China single player Lin Wang, who lost against Korea's Youn Joo Bae [5], a leftie! She was really good, I was inspired by her afterwards to fix up my overhead shots and rely less on my crappy backhand. An uncle at Muirfield was giving me tips on how to do it better too, so it's definitely on the top of my "to master" list.

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Japan's Sayaka Sato [8] versus Korea's Ji Hyun Sung [3]. Another really good Korea women's single player. Her footwork and shots were all so smooth~~~ on a very shallow note, liking the purple shirt!

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And it's pink versus purple! Mixed doubles, Korea's Ji Wook Kang and Hye In Choi against Japan's Shintaro Ikeda and Reiko Shiota [5]

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Ohh Malaysia's Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh [3] versus China's Hanbin He and Yixin Bao. Good to see a Malaysian team on the courts that is otherwise dominated by Korea, Japan and China. They had this secret code going on too- when the girl serves, she secretly indicates a number with her fingers behind her back to her partner. Never figured out what the code meant, haha.

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Needs no introduction, this man. Taufik Hidayat [5] (real one) and Japan's super aggressive Sho Sasaki [2]. Sasaki won. This was actually quite disappointing because Hidayat didn't really put up such a good fight. We were expecting a round 3!! But it's ok, he's 30... wait, that's no excuse. Peter Gade is 35! 

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From 116___04

FLURO orange shirt! Again, another one who needs no intro- Jin Chen [1] vs Takuma Ueda, who did so well. I was rooting for him actually because the Chinese crowd was so noisy, cheering for Jin. No one cheered for Japan.

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He looks like a basketball player to me.

And of course, he won the finals. He was ranked 5th in the world, not sure about now, he could be 4th now? But it was sad that during the quarterfinals, there were so many Japanese teams that made it through to the semis, but none survived to go into the finals. The Korean women's single players too... ended up losing to China's players... =(