Hi there, I'm Alex Pang, the current Canadian national men's singles champion. My goal is to become a world class badminton athlete.  I am excited to have the opportunity to share my thoughts as I travel the world, either training and competiting. 

 

 

Today was my first day of training in Djarum Badminton Club.   A few things I noticed right off the bat when I stepped into the hall: It was huge, humid, and HOT! From the time it took me to drop my bag and tie my shoelaces, I had already broke a sweat.   After three hours of training in these conditions, I can honestly say adjusting to the heat was the most difficult for me. At times I found myself in an almost claustrophobic state, unable to escape the heat. It was suffocating. Three hours felt like three days, and then I had to go and do it again later that afternoon. Well, somehow I did it. My body feels like a sponge that’s been squeezed dry.  

 

Ok so it’s been a few days since I began training here in Djarum. Everything is sore.  Fingers, forearms, shoulders, body parts that I don’t even know the name of, those are sore too. I’ve got blisters all over my hands and toes. This is because I sweat so much, my skins becomes soft ( like after sitting in the pool or a sauna), and its only a matter of time before they develop.   So far, I have come up with two solutions to dealing with the heat during practice. The first: I run over to the Ice Cooler where they keep ice packs and take an ice cube and hold it to my face until its gone. The second: I run over to the fan and stand there any chance I get. Life is great.

 

 

Today is our day off. I’ll recap of some of my experiences thus far this week. 

Laundry. Thank you Djarum Badminton Club for having laundry service. When I give you 10 shirts, 6 shorts, 6 socks, and 4 underwear e-v-e-r-y day, and then get them back the next morning, it is definitely a huge help. That’s not an exaggeration at all by the way.   Every practice I go through 5 shirts. I have to change shorts and socks twice, and I also must change shoes halfway. In the first few days I didn’t bring a second pair of shoes to practice, and after 2 hours there was water coming out of my shoes. It was impossible to play. Speaking of sweating, sometimes I forget to bring enough clothing, and I have to wring out the water from my shorts every 10 minutes in a corner. I’ve also picked up two more pairs of shoes over here, and they are all soaked at the end of the day. 

 

Food. Well, the food is great. I can’t complain at all. They provide cafeteria service in the complex, and they serve it to the athletes whenever they want it. There are some things I don’t like, but that’s what cup noodles are for. Most days, however, I am satisfied to eat there. I haven’t had any food sickness issues so that’s good news.

 

I’ve made friends with a fair amount of the players here. They are all quite friendly. Even though only a few of them can speak english, communication hasn’t been much of a problem. Between my own version of sign language and theirs, I can figure out what’s going on most of the time.

 

 

 

I’m in the middle of the second week, and I’m cruising. Loving it. My body has adjusted to the heat. I can breathe again. I’m not sore anymore either, but I still sweat more than anybody else here. I honestly don’t think there is a single athlete living in this complex that sweats as much as I do. 

 

One thing I haven’t mentioned is that I’m riddled with mosquito bites. Every night, I go to sleep, and they come out of wherever they hide in my room during the day and ravage me. It enrages me to no end when I wake up in the morning and the familiar itch on my arms, legs, neck (and basically anywhere I don’t have covered up) is fresh. It’s not fair. My roommate is unharmed, I don’t get it.

 

I’ve gotten a decent read on the amount of training we’re doing. Its around 6 hours each day, give or take. Usually I can rely on practice going for three hours, and then having anywhere from 4-6 hours of rest before another practice. There’s a good balance of badminton, running, weights, agility, and speed work all coordinated into the program.   The hall is set up in a way for us to do everything there. We don’t ever have to leave for anything. Its not uncommon to see 3 groups training, one group doing weight on one side, and another group running or sprinting around the whole gym. Yes, when I said it was huge earlier, I really meant it. 16 courts huge, to be exact.

 

I’ve also got a chance to see some of the young players they have here training. Allow me to say that it is quite impressive what they do. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but the coaches definitely know how to develop them very quickly. Amazing what you can do when there is money to put into sports, and people to play them.

 

 

 

Third week here. I feel like I should have mentioned this earlier, but there is a picture of Ardy Wiranta at the club in their Hall of Fame. They also have a shirt with his name on the back framed and hoisted up high in the badminton hall that you can see during training. Need I say more?   He is a legend. Never doubt that. 

 

I am feeling pretty good right now. There’s not many things here that surprise me anymore. Besides the beastly looking hornets and insects, and the stares when I walk down the streets (there are not many foreigners that go to kudus I guess?). It is interesting how I am now comfortable with this lifestyle - wake up, train, shower, eat, nap, rinse repeat. Literally. As Peter Rasmussen says, life is badminton and badminton is life...right? (I hope that’s what he says). Oh well. Here’s some food to try if you ever go to Indonesia: Opor, Kasmini, Bebek Goreng, KFC (just kidding, but I did eat KFC a few times).

 

Also, I should mention that it seems the card game Big Two is universally known around the world. The name may be different, but you can be sure it is the same game.   Here, they actually call it Poker. 2s are not called 2s. They are called Pokers. I have 4 Pokers, what do you have?

 

 

I’m pleased with my level right now. Things in my game are starting to slowly improve and that makes me a happy camper. It’s a good feeling. Actually, its a great feeling. Going through a gray zone of training and not knowing if you’re improving is a tough thing to handle sometimes, and I’m glad I can see some results.

 

 I’m familiar with the village for the most part. The fastest way to get around is by motorbike. Eight out of seven people on the road have motorbikes. It’s not uncommon to see three, and sometimes four people all squished on to one bike.   You can also get around by sitting in a carriage attached to a bicycle. They are really cheap, but quite slow, and sometimes embarrassing because they rock like crazy when you try to get in and out, guaranteeing an ungraceful entry/exit. The main thing I find myself drinking here is called Pocari. It is similar to Gatorade, and cheap. They have two Gatorade tubs they keep filled in the training hall, but ever since I helplessly watched myself drink an ant that had made its way into the tub (and consequently into my water bottle), I no longer drink that.

 

 

 

 

My last day of training here in Djarum Badminton Club. I begin my series of flights back to Canada tomorrow morning at 7:40am (which means leaving this place at 5:00am). Fantastic. Not home though. I will be attending a National Team Camp hosted in Vancouver. I love Vancouver, and even though I have thoroughly enjoyed the food here, I really can’t wait to dig into a triple baconator from Wendys. Don’t take me lightly, I love the baconator. 

 

I’m really going to miss it here though. I’m going to miss the friends I’ve made (just kidding facebook), and the training, and the environment. It has given me a lot to think about, and I can be quite a thinker at times, so I’ll never be short of things to daydream about. It will be nice to see some familiar faces, not HAVE to change clothes mid-practice (TWICE), and hopefully not get bitten by any more mosquitos.