AARHUS - Badminton powerhouses like China, Indonesia, Japan and even hosts Denmark are fighting for the Thomas and Uber Cup titles, while other nations like Malaysia, Thailand, India, and South Korea all come in with their own missions.
But for Tahiti - a tiny island nation of about 280,000 in the South Pacific Ocean - mere participation in the men’s and women’s team world championships is already a significant opportunity to rub shoulders against the world’s top shuttlers.
Tahiti were invited to replace Oceania champions Australia - who withdrew due to Covid-19 pandemic - as the next highest-ranking nation in the continent declined the offer for the same reason.
Drawn into Group C of the Thomas Cup, the minnows suffered 5-0 defeats to Asian giants China and India, the debutants were in a celebratory mood after they managed to steal a point against the Netherlands, before eventually going down 1-4.
Singles player Remi Rossi emerged the hero, defeating Dutchman Robin Mesman 21-16, 24-23, which drew cheers from both the country’s men’s and women’s squads.
Rossi, 25, who is a physical education teacher and a student in acting hopes to feature in the badminton World Championships soon, besides helping Tahiti to qualify to the Thomas Cup on merit in future editions, though he is aware this entails an uphill task of beating Australia and New Zealand in the qualifiers.
“It is incredible to play here, playing against China and India, two of the countries that are among the best in the world. It is a very good experience for us because we only watch them play on TV. It’s crazy to train with them on court and play against them now.
“For me, I wanted to enjoy playing in all the games. Though still far behind, we have improved a lot, and I hope that in five years, we will be able to beat Australia and New Zealand,” said Rossi, who is based in Paris, France now.
Rossi said the Tahiti Badminton Federation was only founded in 2005, but the racquet sport has been growing in popularity there ever since. – Bernama, October 16, 2021
