2014-05-04

【Aiden in English】

        The sport of badminton is unique and quite challenging. It tests flexibility and reflexes. Let me tell you this. I'm as flexible as a hippo and as fast as a snail. Yet I could survive till the third round of the competition which took place in Guang Hua Chinese School in PA today.

        So the tournament is set up as a double-elimination format. After the first round, the tournament splits in two, the losers and the winners. Then the tournaments proceed like any other tournament with a single elimination. The winner of the loser's tournament plays with the winner of the winner's tournament, and that winner plays with the champion from the last year.

        From the beginning, I knew #1 wasn't me since I started it off with a lost to Lucas. He took advantage of my lack of speed and made me look like a fool by hitting the shuttle over the court. But I wasn't ready to give up.

        In my 2^nd round though, the opponent seemed like a Martian to me. He served so lightly that I missed two serves since I wasn't prepared. In the end, however, that became backfired and I got used to it and smashed the shuttle right back.

        Yet my fate was to fall in the 3^rd round. I began with a loss in the 1^st game. I came back in the 2^nd one. Since it's a best out of three, the 3^rd and last game was all mine until my strength wavered. Gradually, but surely, I got slower, weaker. Worst of all, I lost the control of hand and eye. And after a fierce battle of 16-18, I was defeated by a girl, Amy. 

        到了決定命運的第三輪比賽，我先輸了第一局，但很快又扳回第二局，因為比賽採用三局兩勝制，第三局即最後一局開盤後我始終領先，可越打越累，慢慢地並且明顯地，我速度跟不上，力氣一同消耗殆盡。最倒霉的是，這時動作失控，視線模糊，經過拉鋸式殘酷廝殺之後，我終於以16:18輸給了女生艾米，徹底敗走麥城。

        So I guess that's another reason why badminton is unique and challenging. Needless to say that badminton is characterized of flexibility and reflexes, the endurance becomes the turning point of the competition. If I overcame myself, I would play at a whole new level of this sport.

【紅霞譯文】

        羽毛球這個運動項目別具特色，極富挑戰性，需要靈活善變。咱實話實說，本人的敏捷程度宛若河馬，而反應速度又堪比蝸牛，能在賓州光華中文學校舉行的羽毛球比賽中過關斬將僥倖進入第三輪角逐，實在出乎意料。

        整個比賽採用雙淘汰賽制，經過第一輪較量後，比賽被分為輸、贏二組。接下來實行淘汰賽，與其它任何循環賽沒什麼兩樣，贏的跟贏的打，輸的跟輸的比，贏完輸的之後再挑戰下一輪比賽，勝者最後與去年冠軍爭奪今年第一名。

        比賽開始不久，我就知道自己肯定與第一無緣，因為我首先輸給了盧卡斯。他抓住我缺乏速度的弱點，長傳短調，害得我像傻瓜一樣滿場亂竄，但我還是咬牙堅持了下來。

        第二輪比賽中，對手好像火星人似的，發球輕飄飄地，開始我並不適應，一連失掉兩分。然而到後來，我逐漸熟悉了他的打法，及時扭轉乾坤並取得勝利。

        正因如此，我覺得羽毛球與其它運動不同，特別具有挑戰性，除其本身兼顧靈活性和反應快等特點之外，耐力將成為決定比賽勝負的關鍵因素。如果我能戰勝自己，相信本人羽毛球水平定會更上一層樓。