"Olympic Experience" (Part IV)

I was ready at the baseline to receive the serve. It went to the middle of the service box. I moved towards the ball and decided to return the serve with my backhand rather than running around it for a forehand. The return was just high enough to clear the net but was low enough to get past the racket of the net player. Her teammate (the server) did not get to it. The ball bounced twice.

We won the match!

What an exciting feeling! My partner and I had a big sweaty hug. Meanwhile, our other teammates from the sideline ran towards us on the court and we hugged each other. At the award ceremony, each of us received a medal. We even did the funny photo by biting our medals, like some athletes did at the Olympics.  :)

What a joy! The team effort was most wonderful. Whenever my partner(s) and I had a bad few points or games, we picked each other up. Whoever was not playing came along to cheer on the rest of us. When my partner and I had the tough loss, the rest of the team was nothing but encouraging. When my back hurt, my captain gave me a back massage to help relieve my pain. When we won the championship together, we shared the joy.

Loss and triumph sometimes go hand in hand. Looking back, I was thankful for the tough loss in my second match. It was the most disappointing for the first ten minutes after the match, but learning to deal with the defeat (quickly) made me a better tennis player mentally. The wins that came after also became much sweeter because I had tasted defeat.
 
As I mentioned in my first Olympics post, Chariots of Fire is one of my favorite movies. In the movie, when Eric Liddell's sister wanted him to return to mission work in China instead of going to the Olympics, he said:

I believe God made me for a purpose, and He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure.

My favorite line from the movie. I am no Olympian, but I think we can seek to glorify God through sports (tennis in my case). I was calm during our second match point in the last match, but the calm did not come from me. It came from God. And the backhand return? Totally God.

Off the court, I also had a wonderful stay with my hostess. Before booking, I was exchanging messages with the lady renting the room. At first, we discussed the room and logistics; but she soon opened up about her family. At her house, we had several great conversations, including one about her salvation. Before I left, she gave me a hug, and even a beautiful doily she made as a souvenir.

What a wonderful weekend.

Don't forget the Paralympic Games began today!

"Olympic Experience" (Part III)

When I woke up the next morning, my back hurt so much from the extra firm mattress that I could not stand up straight. But emotionally, I was healthy. I had thankfully recovered from the loss; and my doubles partner and I played well to win our match. Our team had gone undefeated in five matches. We now came to the final round to play another undefeated team for the championship.

With the brutal sun hanging over the courts, all five matches in the final round went underway at the same time. I played with another teammate in our match. We won the first set nicely. In the second set, we got broken twice and fell behind, but we came back each time. We worked as a team, cheering each other on and developing strategies to get ourselves in winning position. By the time we broke back for the second time, all the other matches were finished. It was only us on the court, and the rest of both teams were looking on.

My partner and I did not know this at the time, but as our captains told us after our match, our teams had split the first four matches, so the championship came down to this match.

At 4-all, it was my turn to serve. We got ahead but the game went to deuce. In the end, we held and moved ahead. Five-four. If we won the next game, we would win the match. We moved ahead to 40-0 quickly and had three match points. We lost the next point to a strong volley from our opponents. Big cheers from their teammates.

Match point number two. It was my turn to receive serve. I told myself before my opponent's serve that I wanted to hit a solid return and put our team in a good position for a good rally. I was ready for the serve and was very calm.

To be continued

"Olympic Experience" (Part II)

The tournament lasted three days. But since work had been busy, I could only travel on day one and play on the last two days. With two matches per day, I played four doubles matches under the very hot sun.

By the time I played my first match, my team had won both line-ups on Friday, so we were in great position to advance (each line-up included 5 matches; a team had to win at least 3 matches to win the line-up). As soon as I started my match, I noticed my back was stiff. But the match went well, and my captain gave me a back message after the win! After this round robin, we advanced to the championships round for another three rounds of matches to play other round robin winners in our division.

I played my next match with another teammate. My back issue remained (it turned out the extra firm mattress was too much for my back) but the pain-relieving patch my captain put on me before the match helped. My doubles partner and I won the first set quite smoothly, but we lost serve and the second set 4-6.

The third set (and the match) was decided by the doubles tiebreak instead of a full set. We lost a few points early, but the tiebreak was fairly even before we saved a couple of match points. Then our turn came. We had match point! However, I missed a volley.  Soon, it was our opponents' match point again and we lost the match when they called my partner's shot out.

After the match, my partner and I were very disappointed. In the end, it did not affect the result, since our team won the other matches and we were still on the winning side of the line-up. Our teammates circled around us to cheer us up. They also told us that they all saw the last shot in. However, because our opponents called it out, we lost.

But I learned an important lesson. As we walked off the court, I told myself that I could take the loss. That helped me keep my emotions from overtaking me. Instead of dwelling on the loss or those few points that determined the match, I decided to accept the defeat (as a sidebar, Rafa Nadal is the best role model on how to deal with losses), learn from it, not let it bother me or define my tournament, and move on. I had had tough losses and disappointments before, but I now really understood that the best way to deal with defeats was to accept them head-on, not ignore or run from them.

To be continued

"Olympic Experience" (Part I)

The London Olympics might seem a while ago, but don't forget the Paralympic Games begin on August 29!

I was not watching much of the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics because I was on my way back from my own "Olympic experience!" :)

I had a state-wide tennis tournament out of town that weekend.  The tournament was the end-of-the-season event for teams that lost in the playoffs earlier this summer. I was unable to at the playoffs because of my research trip to Boston, so I wanted to make sure I did my part for my team this time.

After the Boston trip, I actually could not play tennis for about three weeks (more on that in future postings). So when my doctor cleared me to play three weeks before the tournament, I decided to put in extra time to get myself in the best tennis shape possible and prepare for the tournament as best as I could. So I played more tennis and added extra practice sessions to work on some specifics. I also cut out all unhealthy food for two weeks. Even iced tea (what I usually drank other than water) got on the chopping board so I could avoid dehydration. Thankfully, by the time I packed and left town for the tournament, I felt more ready than I had expected.

One of the commercials during the Olympics was a group of (nameless and faceless) athletes narrating what they had given up to train for the Olympics (no desserts, no leisure reading, no TV etc.). While my training was no where near their rigor, strangely I understood what they meant.

So off I went to the biggest tournament of which I had been a part.

To be continued

London Olympics! (Part IV)

Ready for some final thoughts?

Track and Field

I have mentioned him before, but Oscar Pistorius ran the anchor leg of the men's 4x400M relay. By the time he got the baton, South Africa was in last place. However, he ran a great leg to finish the race. What a wonderful race. How nice to see he was also the flag bearer for his country at the Closing Ceremony. He will remain in London for the Paralympics so cheer for him!

I am not a fan of inking one's body, but check out Oscar's tattoo on his shoulder/back! It's 1 Corinthians 9: 26-27:

I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Triathlon

I only read about this, but what sportsmanship by Leonardo Chacon! He got clipped during the cycling race and fell behind. But instead of getting angry about the unfortunate situation and blaming the defending silver medalist, the athlete who crashed and unintentionally made contact with Chacon's bike, Costa Rican Chacon sent a heartfelt Facebook message to Simon Whitfield of Canada. In return, Whitfield just posted this message on Facebook:

Dear People of Costa Rica & Canada,
Because of Leonardo's kindness and because him & Simon have become fast-friends, Team Whitfield is working on flying in Leonardo to Canada so we can meet him in person. Stay tuned for details!

Diving

Platform diving is one of my favorite Olympic sports. At the men's 10M platform diving event, China was favored to win gold (as usual), but David Boudia had a fantastic last dive to pull ahead of Tom Daley (home favorite) and China's Qiu Bo to win gold! At the end of the competition, while the incredibly poised Boudia was looking at the score board and soaking in the news, his team was so excited for him that they were hugging him and congratulating him. What team spirit! And read this and this about David's faith.

Marathon

Ryan Hall had to drop out of the race with a hamstring injury. While deeply disappointed, he posted the following tweet:

A huge bummer of a day today. Hamstring wouldn't let me go. But a huge congrats to @runmeb! You continue to inspire me. #GodIsStillGood

What a way to hold on to faith during this difficult time!

Closing Ceremony

I didn't get to watch it much, but the stage design was nice. The center was the Union Jack and athletes gathered "under the flag." A nice symbol to show how the Olympic Games in London brought athletes together from around the world. And what fun to watch the Olympians relax and celebrate their hard work and achievements!

I hope you enjoyed the Games as much as I did! 

London Olympics! (Part III)

More favorite moments from the Summer Games:

Swimming

This is not really a favorite moment, but I have another Hong Kong connection. :) Besides the relay medals, Nathan Adrian had a fantastic gold-medal swim as he out touched the world champion by one-hundredth of a second! But there was also something else I couldn't quite point my finger to, until I learned that his mom was from Hong Kong! How cool was that. :)

As a sidebar, he, Missy Franklin and Gabby Douglas should be presented with some kind of smiley awards. They all have wonderfully contagious smiles!

Track and Field

Liu Xiang became the first Chinese man to win a track and field gold by winning the 110M hurdles in Athens in 2004. When he couldn't compete at the Beijing Games in 2008 because of injury, the host country was devastated. Four years later, he came to London in good form until he tripped on his first hurdle and was injured. Instead of staying down and letting officials wheel him out of the stadium right away, however, he hopped his way to the finish line, completing his race despite the pain and overwhelming disappointment. What sportsmanship.

Felix Sanchez was devastated and understandably distracted at the Beijing Games when he learned before his heat that his grandmother had passed away. At the 400M hurdles in London, he ran with a picture of her beloved grandmother and him tucked underneath his bib number, and in shoes with Abuela written on them. When he won the race, he pulled out the photo and kissed it. At the medal ceremony, with the gold medal around his neck and his national anthem playing, he was so overwhelmed that he could not stop crying. A touching moment.

Allyson Felix lost two close 200M races at the last two Olympic Games. Instead of giving up and calling it a career with two silver medals, she kept running. In London, she was the fastest runner and fulfilled her dream by winning the gold medal.

Leo Manzano captured the first medal for the USA in the 1500M event since 1968 by staging an exhilarating run past a handful of opponents in the final stretch of the race, winning the silver medal. As he was running the race of his life, his hometown was cheering him on from a distance. At the end of the race, his folks were as elated as he was.

Gymnastics

I didn't see it until this week but it is worth mentioning. After Team USA won the team gold last week, captain Aly Raisman took off her gold medal and put it on her coach, Mihai Brestyan, because she felt it was as much as his gold medal as it was hers. Her coach (a big guy) gave her a big hug and began to cry. What a thoughtful and sweet gesture by the teenager.

Beach Volleyball

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings completed their dream run and won their third straight Olympic gold medal. Their gold medal match was also their last match together since Misty was retiring. At the medal ceremony, Kerri was holding Misty's hand while singing to the national anthem. When Kerri was overcome by bittersweet emotions, the crowd picked her up by singing the anthem for her. What an incredible run for the duo and what a nice ending and send-off by the crowd.

London Olympics! (Part II)

I didn't watch the Olympics much this past weekend because I was out and about most of the time. But wonderful moments kept happening so here are some more favorites:

Tennis

As a tennis player, I would do the sports injustice if I don't mention some great highlights from my sport. :)

1. Andy Murray winning gold

What a wonderful moment. Having suffered a number of close defeats in major events for years and coming from a heartbreaking loss merely four weeks ago at Wimbledon on the same court to the same opponent, world number four Andy beat Roger Federer, Wimbledon Champion and world number one (I need to add that I do like Roger a lot!). Winning his first major title in front of his home crowd made it even more special.

2. Rafa Nadal posting picture of medalists on Facebook

This happened outside of London but was nonetheless noteworthy. Rafa, world number three, was out of the Olympics because of knee injury but he posted a picture of the medalists with a warm congratulatory message. Classy.

Track and Field 

How about Oscar Pistorius's 400M races and this wonderful photo?

And how about Kirani James, world champion from Grenada and eventual gold medalist (his country's first!) in the event? In a fantastic gesture of respect, James displayed wonderful sportsmanship after the semi final when he asked to exchange bib numbers with Pistorius and raised it to the crowd.

Cycling

Hong Kong has a bronze medal (third Olympic medal overall and first in cycling)! Great success for Sarah Lee, but the story about her coach is also fascinating. A promising cyclist before losing a leg in an accident in the 1980s, Shen Jinkang turned to coaching. Eighteen years of hard work have now paid off.

London Olympics!

I am enjoying the Olympics! A week into the Summer Games, here are some highlights and favorite moments:

Opening Ceremony

Chariots of Fire is one of my favorite movies, so it was wonderful to hear the theme song at the ceremony (and it looks like that's the music they use at the medal ceremonies!). I wouldn't say Mr. Bean's bit was among my favorite moments, but he didn't take anything away. :)

The most poignant moment was probably the passing of the torch to the young athletes at the end. They were not world famous yet, but it was a very nice touch that the torch was passed to them, both literally and figuratively.

Swimming

Michael Phelps placed fourth in his first event, a horrific result by his golden standard. His team then lost the 4x100 freestyle relay and came in second, before he was out touched in his next individual event. But he turned things around nicely and won gold in his next three events, setting more records along the way. A sign of a true champion who does not dwell on setbacks but meets challenges head-on with determination, courage and expectation.

Gymnastics 

Wonderful performance (and smile!) by Gabby Douglas in the all-around competition!

And wonderful sportsmanship by teammate Jordyn Wieber, world champion and heavy gold medal favorite who had heartbreakingly missed the cut to the all-around competition but came back the next day to help win the team gold medal. The following day, she was in the audience to cheer on her teammates at the all-around final and sent this classy tweet after the competition.

Judo

I don't usually follow this sport, but just heard about this triumphant story of Kayla Harrison both in her career and in life.


How about you? Which event or Olympian stands out for you so far?