20/04/2024
Special thanks to Nuey, Boi, the staff of Impact, and Mr. Steve Koon who supports our programs throughout the years. The following is purely a fabrication of what happened today and is by no way meant to be anything but a memorable moment.
“Winning is a chance for confidence and losing is a chance for growth.”
The journey of a 1000 miles begins with a first step.
Series 15 came to a conclusion amidst challenges, daring adventures, and unseen peril. Locking the entries to 15 categories to have an earlier finish than normal was a good idea until the challenges came amidst the peril.
The tournament was hot. Not simple hot like some sauce you use on your food. All engulfing sauna hot with no relief in sight. The trees were still and the shade offered some safety from the blazing sun but the temperature was quite unusually high. Several casualties were claimed. The Tournament Director Gary tried to issue heat warnings to no avail. Some like Gabriel fell and bruised a forearm. Others like Sheen developed forearm cramp which there really is no cure, once that sets in you’re done. Poom endured the most dangerous cramping—starting with an abdominal cramp, vomiting, and a daze, members of TPTL flocked to him while Gary evaluated—He’s still sweating. His eyes retain cognitive function. Very pale looking. To the showers, douse him with water, let his temperature drop and go to the hospital and get evaluated. The biggest danger of overheating is the expansion of your tongue, your organs, and permanent damage. Luckily, we were far from that. The Men’s room became the Emergency room as Sheen got some deep tissue massage and Poom was whisked away to the hospital to recover.
The daring adventures with Mr. Bank playing two singles—5.0 and 5.5 and also MD 5.0 but alas even Superman meets his Kryptonite as he battled Walter and Karn into tiebreakers, battles that sapped his strength and limited his abilities in the day. Kotaro returned to battle in the 5.5 while Karn claimed his first 5.5 title amidst a 3 way tie with Bank, that came to games. Shane claimed his first 4.5 championships along with newcomers Dominique Men’s 4.0, Chris Ho and Greg N took their first 5.0 Mens doubles home over the tricky Yothin and High. MD 4.0 saw Poom go down leaving Yanont with no partner, but the purpose of TPTL is to play matches, not to just watch—a quick replacement pushed him over Gary and Thani, while battling High and female player Bhum, flashing two handed forehands and backhands. Don came in second behind Tae while Totoh took home her Championships in W3.5 along with Mrs. Yee. Game dominated 5.0 again and will never play that level again. Kiki prevailed over Selma in W4.0 singles while the Mixed saw ferocious battles as Nut/May got the championships over Tae/Jean. Duke snuck into M4.0 to claim a trophy and MD 3.5 saw Boon and Captain, Father Son demonstrate the ties that bind.
As the beers were shared along with some rose wine, the players marveled and enjoyed the closing evening matches. Thailand Premier Tennis League is a family that tries to push each other to higher levels of tennis in as fair and controlled environment as possible. The moments pass quickly but the memories remain.
As the last light was turned off, Thani and Gary headed to a Korean BBQ laughing at the joy of being alive and remembering all the funny moments in the day. Aloha hui hou e komo mai. Til we meet again, we love you.
15/10/2018
07/10/2018
06/10/2018
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03/10/2018
03/10/2018