The President’s Cup Badminton Tournament

No fewer than 51 competitors, including Professor Shih himself, took part in the Badminton Tournament last weekend.

This was the first time that the President’s Cup has been contested and there was fierce competition in a series of exciting matches.

The event was also the first to be held at the soon-to-be-opened Island Recreation Club and drew a diverse audience of community members of all ages. The championship was made up of four categories, Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. The tournament was sponsored by Graduate Affairs, the Office of the President, and the University Badminton Association and organized by KAUST Recreation.

The Tournament Winners:

Mixed Doubles:
Champions: Garth Tissington & Kelly Isbister
Runner-up: Glenn Carney & Pauline Nolan
2nd runner-up: Unnat Bahansali & Supriya Chewle

Men’s Doubles:
Champions: Unnat Bhansali & Garth Tissington
Runner-up: Glenn Carney & Xixiang Zhang
2nd runner-up: Adnan Qamar & Sarath Kumar

Women’s Singles:
Champion: Liying Sun
Runner-up: Xiaojuan Huang
2nd runner-up: Pauline Nolan

Men’s Singles:
Champion: Unnat Bahansali
Runner-up: Garth Tissington
2nd Runner-up: Glenn Carney

President Shih (pictured above) feels passionately about the sport, which he hopes to popularize further in the community. He spoke to The Lens about the many health benefits of badminton, a game that has its origins in Pune, India and was originally played not with a shuttlecock, but with a ball of wool. Asian nations now dominate the sport at Olympic-level play. Not only does the aerobic exercise involved promote physical fitness, but the format of the game contributes to mental and emotional well being. Players must develop agility of both mind and body in a game known as “physical chess,” where decisions must be made quickly to achieve results. Above all, badminton is a game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and is enormous fun.

Look for more details of the tournament in the next issue of The Beacon.