The Third Power Badminton took place at the NTU Sports Center on Jun 26 with contenders from EMBA students, alumni members, and faculty members. The Power Badminton is an important cross-year and cross-major social platform. Total 27 teams and about 250 contenders signed up; a record-high event.

Wu De-Feng, Chairman of the NTU EMBA Alumni Foundation, signed up the Fun Group. “Power Badminton gives the student players an objective, with which they not only may pursue physical strength and build up team spirit, but also obtain self-esteem,” said Wu.

According to Hsu Li-Ren, Badminton Club President, the purposes that Badminton Club organizes the Power Badminton contest is to unite students of different years and majors to jointly promote badminton sport and to sharpen up their fighting spirit under a common cause. The first year of the contest had 10-strong teams; the second year, 22 teams; and the third year, 27 teams with 250 contenders. According to Hsu, a communication network has been developed with one contact person per each year to organize students of different years but with common interests in badminton to remain in contact. For example, many alumni members formed cross-year and/or cross-major teams.

Yang Shi-Xu, of Class 2004, helped to coordinate this event. During his college years, Yang was on the NTU Badminton Team. He finds affinity among EMBA badminton players, and loves to be around either coaching or partnering. The Badminton Club may be an amateur club with leisure in minds, but Yan is amazed that the members are highly self-disciplined and self-demanding about this sport. “That’s the same seriousness you can expect from these EMBA people; they are here to excel,” said Yang.

Dai Bao-Lang, of Class 2010 and first year of Fudan Program, has been playing badminton for more than 20 years. He said that NTU EMBA is a great social platform, and sports make it even better. Cooptition with fellow players inspires greater unity, and badminton games keep alumni members a tight group.

Qiu Hui-Xun, a third time contender and of Class 2012, didn’t know about badminton until she has enrolled in NTU EMBA, where her fellow students showed her how. She was in the team for the Chengchi University badminton contest, that was when she begins to commit to badminton contest. “Sports is good for health; it also speeds up your brain. The strategic side in sports is the same in business administration. The coach directed me to serve the shuttlecock to the unguarded place. Most importantly, we can play badminton together even when we are old. Sustainable, as in business,” Qiu said in joy.

Cai Yu-Tun, leader of the Green Team of Class 2016, took his team to the contest. The Green Team, total 15 of them, routinely practiced badminton together during club hours every Wednesday and Friday. According to Cai, badminton is a sport that depends more than sheer muscle force. It has double-teamed games; it requires dynamic strategies, calculated strikes, and sequencing your moves. A very bad mistake that a double-team can make is fighting for the shuttlecock at the same time, and developing tacit agreement is a remedy to reduce that mistake.

According to Cai Yi-Kun, director of Dept. of Information Management, also a third-time contender in the contest, and a member of the Faculty Team, progress in sport skill is the same as study and entrepreneurship; they all need time. EMBA students may find great satisfaction in badminton if they apply their spirit in business in this sport and train together.

The contest this year took one entire day and rounded off. Soon in mid-August the NTU Badminton Club will play against the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai while making new friends in the game. NTU EMBA students who love badminton and shedding sweats on the courts in trainings will sharpen up their intuitive agility. They will adopt their business ambition in the courts and decisive strike in business. They will take on challenges with cool heads, flexibility, and strength.

Record-high 27 teams and 250 contenders signed up the Third NTU EMBA Power Badminton. 

Faculty Team building up their spirit before the game. 

Cross-year and cross-major, NTU EMBA students who love badminton and shedding sweats on the courts are sharpening up their intuitive agility as well.