The sport is fast, it’s furious and it’s physically demanding.
It might not be what you think.
“I owe everything to badminton,” said David Levin, a former two-time champion of the Hilo Open.
Levin went to college on a badminton scholarship, met his wife through the sport and his first business involved importing badminton equipment. Levin, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., was a champion at the ninth annual Hilo Open in the early 1980s, and he credited the sport with helping him stay fit and trim as he competed at the 43rd edition of the tournament, which wrapped up Sunday at Hilo Armory.
“I love the vigorous physicality of it,” Levin said. “Once you’ve played it, you’ll fall in love with it.”
Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world off immediate impact.
“A pro smash can split a watermelon at point-blank,” said Michael Tsutsumi, who is formerly of Hilo and came from Japan with his wife, Nagisa, for the tournament. “Playing 20 minutes is equivalent to 40 minutes of running.”
The British Empire introduced the sport, but it was perfected in Asia. While badminton is perhaps best known in the United States as a recreation sport played at backyard barbecues, it’s big business in countries such as China and Indonesia.
“For fun, go on Youtube and look up the Indonesian Open,” Levin said. “The fans are bonkers.”
With a good “excuse” to take a Hawaiian vacation, Levin was just as happy Saturday to be in the cozy if not sweltering confines of Hilo Armory. The tournament is sponsored by the Hilo Badminton Club.
As three doubles matches went on in front of him, Levin described the wonders of the shuttlecock – or birdie.
“That’s what makes the game possible,” he said. “The physics of a shuttlecock. I don’t know who invented it, but he’s a genius.”
The fastest recorded badminton stroke – roughly 206 MPH – is higher than the fastest recorded tennis stroke, but the shuttlecock expands after impact and decelerates substantially, allowing players on the other side of net to have a chance.
Still, the sport keeps participants on their toes.
“You can not be a good player without great quickness,” Levin said.
Badminton is the sport of choice for the Tsutsumi ohana.
Lorna Tsutsumi of the Hilo Badminton Club said the 65-player field was the highest at the event since the 1980s, with 25 players coming from Oahu and 15 from the mainland. This year’s tournament honored Hilo cardiologist Dr. Djon Lim, a charter member of the club who passed away this year.
“I took a physical education course (at UH-Hilo) from Ramon Goya, and he was a badminton instructor at the time,” Tsutsumi said. “I found out about the club, and I’ve been playing for over 30 years.”
The club meets three times a week for matches at Hilo Armory.
Oahu has the only badminton-specific facility in the state, however, that would change if Levin had Bill Gates’ bank account for a day. He said he’d buy Hilo Armory from the county, paint the walls green, alter the overhead lighting – and perhaps install some vents.
“This would be a fabulous facility,” he said
For more information on the Hilo Badminton Club, email d_ishimoto@hotmail.com.
