V ’12: Badminton looking to smash Coventry

Wa Sonsin, the third year student and president of Warwick’s Badminton society and club sported a bright blue sports top as he sat down, fresh from club photographs, to talk about the state of Badminton at the University of Warwick.

With the men’s first team in contention to gain promotion from Division One to the Premier League this season and a tour to the beaches of Rimini in Italy booked, the club president had every reason to be pleased with this year’s progress.

“The badminton season so far has gone really, really well,” he said, enjoying the success that has characterised his short time as president of the society.

“Four out of the five teams are currently fighting for promotion. The men’s firsts are currently second in their league (Division One) and have definitely gotten into the play-offs. Our men’s seconds currently need to win their game tomorrow in order to get to their play-offs, and it’s the same story with the women’s first team, whereas the women’s seconds are a shoe-in for promotion.”

Success across the whole club it would seem, so far. The last two matches of the competitive season, however, look fiercely competitive as the squad shapes up to cement the good form that their early season displays have promised.

In terms of the upcoming Varsity match with Coventry, the Badminton team looks to be in good shape again with Sonsin indicating: “Usually we’re not too worried about Coventry. They’re a great bunch of lads but they’re not too strong.” What may be perceived as overconfidence, however, is justified when the president recounts past results, saying:

“We won 7-1 last year and we’re going to hope for an 8-0 this year. We have men’s firsts and men’s seconds who play [in the Varsity games]. Men’s seconds will win 8-0 hands down, but the men’s firsts have one tough game so maybe a 7-1 but hopefully an 8-0.”

This confidence, though, won’t change the preparations for the match, marking them as no different to any other game. “The only thing really [different about Varsity preparation] is getting the team pumped up,” Sonsin said. “They [Warwick’s players] are all good enough to beat them [Coventry’s players] hands down, so we’re not too worried about not winning. We’re more focussed on how we’re going to approach it on the day and how it’s going to be on the day.”

The president also took time to reflect on the day-to-day running of the badminton society, aside from the focus of the Varsity match, with 475 members of the club competing in regular tournaments for different abilities. “We have great turnouts at tournaments. We hold open tournaments or knockout tournaments sometimes, but if the numbers allow it we will play group stages. We get maybe forty or fifty, sometimes even sixty people, turning up for a tournament on a day.”

With success in the league, bumper turnouts at scheduled tournaments and the addition of a former Singapore national player to the first team ranks, Warwick badminton looks to be in rude health and that is reflected in the growing hopes that the number of members will reach Sonsin’s goal of 500 by the end of the academic year. If this target is achieved, last year’s 485, boosted by an influx of third term students, will be significantly left in the shade.

President Sonsin, then, looks to be leaving a fine legacy, should both the tour to Italy and the possible promotion come through well.

Speaking about the tour, the first in five years, he suggested: “We’re really excited to be back on the tour circuit and we’re going to be out in Italy for a good six days. Two of those days we will be playing tournaments with other universities in a town called Rimini.”

The overall state of the Badminton society could be characterised by Sonsin’s final answer: “It’s great; we play badminton, we have banter and we get free food, which is quite good.” Exactly.