My Badminton Racket's Farewell, The Racket That Saw It All

Today, I bid farewell to my badminton racket. It has been my trusted companion for three years, standing by me through countless games and fostering some wonderful friendships along the way. It’s been a steady source of support, and I’ll always appreciate the memories we've created together.

Here’s a story on why this racket was so special and how the farewell went.

Where it all started

I bought it post-COVID, visiting a shop with my close friend, Christy. I was looking for a racket that was lightweight and head-heavy. I was picky and took a lot of time to choose one. Christy was getting impatient and picked one himself, saying, "This is good; take this." I thought, "Okay, let’s go with it," but then started the whole loop again. Eventually, I settled on the same racket he’d chosen. I wasn’t a big fan of the color, but I liked the weight and balance, so I went with it.

The brother bond

Playing badminton daily was part of my physical routine, though my brother seldom joined us. One day, he did, and during our game, my racket’s strings snapped. We quickly borrowed scissors from a neighbor to cut the strings, preventing the racket from breaking from imbalanced tension. Ironically, my brother’s racket strings also broke moments later on the same day. We went through the same process and planned to get both rackets restrung at a particular shop.

As I was leaving, a close friend gave me a small token. At first, it took me a moment to process, but it turned out to be truly special.

I'm not sure if she did this intentionally, but while waiting on the bench for the next match, she crafted a little keepsake using two of our strings and a pair of scissors. The orange string is mine, and the black one belongs to my brother.

It's like a metaphor for the bond between my brother and me. His string keeps my circle whole, steady, and unbroken. It was a beautiful gesture, This small thing now holds a special place among my cherished keepsakes.

The String Saga

We both just nodded when the shopkeeper pointed out a string, not knowing we’d regret it the very next day. It turned out to be a durability string, meaning it is focused more on lasting wear than on power, control or sound. The result was a disappointing experience that lingered for days.

When getting the string, my racket also needed some patchwork, as the tension from the previous break had slightly bent it in three spots.

At this point itself it was clear that the racket was aging. It reached it’s time 🥹. Then we played at an average level for about a month or two.

Two days before the incident, my friend Christy rejoined our game after more than three years. He’s an exceptional overall player with a powerful smash. I could barely position my racket fast enough to reach the spot where he hit—it was that quick. Even when he used my racket, his smash was still very average. At that moment, I decided I couldn’t continue with this string and began researching better options. Eventually, I had a clear idea of what to buy.

I visited the shop and went with a better string, disregarding the shopkeeper’s suggestion.

He raised the price, but I agreed, as the same string was more expensive online and the local shop offered a good deal. While unstringing my racket, we noticed a few more spots that needed patching. Now, it has four patches, and for a pro player, multiple patches aren’t ideal. But since I’m not a pro, I was okay with it. ;) And I don't have the heart to throw it away and buy a new one.

Then they strung the racket with a better tension. Now, my racket has a superior string with improved tension. 🚀

The farewell day

With the new string and better tension, my racket felt fantastic. The sound it made was satisfying, though not quite as good as the VBS-63 orange string I showed earlier. This new string offered both power and control.

Then we started playing, After nearly an hour of playing, I heard a slight “ting” and felt a tiny shake in my hands. A sound familiar from light racket collisions. Looking around, I realized no one was near enough to have caused it. It hit me that my racket had finally given out, breaking at one of the patched spots.

Although I felt a bit emotional, I also had a sense of closure—I’d played hard until the end.

Then a good friend we met through badminton came over to talk to me. (He actually came to console me, as he saw the pain in me despite my smile.) We had a casual conversation, and during it, I started to understand why I felt a sense of complete closure, piece by piece. I’ll share those realizations below—thinking of them as scenes in a non-linear movie script 😉.

I had a good partner, but we faced two tough opponents. One was a professional handball player, who stands 6 feet tall and smashes like he’s throwing a handball into a goal and moving to all corners with ease. The other opponent was my close friend, Christy, whose skills I mentioned earlier. Somehow, though, we won the first match.

In our usual games, we play casually if the opponents aren’t strong, but as soon as we lose, we bring our full effort in the next game, and this cycle repeats. Yet, even after they stepped up, we won three matches in a row against the same team.

After that, I played two more matches and won those as well.

I realized, as I was explaining this to my friend, that my racket had just experienced the perfect farewell day. 😇

I wasn’t feeling well that day and had already planned to leave early. So, once the racket broke, I headed home. On the way, I realized one more reason why this farewell was so fitting.

I’m not a strong smasher. Despite years of playing, I never mastered powerful smashes, so I focused on improving other skills like drops, placements, serves, footwork. All of which helped me win games without relying on smashes. Even though I’ve become good at these, not having a strong smash has always bothered me. It was one of the reasons I had my racket restrung, hoping the new string would add some power to my shots.

As a taller and bigger player, I often get hit with smashes from opponents, especially from two players in particular—the exact two opponents I faced that day. Winning against them gave me a dopamine boost. To top it off, I landed my most powerful smash ever, and it hit my buddy Christy square on the head! 😂 We burst into laughter right there, and I couldn’t stop trash-talking and laughing, saying, ‘Finallyyyy!’

In that moment, I knew this racket couldn’t have had a better farewell. I was still laughing as I rode home.

The realization

Over the past three years, this racket has:

• Been shared by over 12 people
• Played on 9 different courts
• Traveled across two states
• Led me to wonderful friendships and connections
• Played alongside people from all walks of life—doctors, engineers, company founders, principals, politicians, entrepreneurs, ground owners, pastry chefs, athletes, pharmacists, and designers.
• This racket has been more than just equipment. I may not have loved its looks at first, but just like a person who may not stand out at first glance but has a beautiful heart, it brought so much into my life, and I’m grateful. This is my thank-you note to my racket.

Thank you, Racket. Thank you, Badminton 🏸."