I jumped as high as I could and smashed the shuttle in the opponents court — only to have it hit the top of the net and fall diasppointingly in to our court. The game was 100% effort and a whole lot of errors.

So in retrospect what determines victory on the badminton court or even in life?

Intention is everything. Visualise and feel the win. Visualise a high five with your partner at the end of the game and glow of victory. As Steven Covey says ‘Start with the end in mind’

In a doubles game it is all about teamwork and cooperation. Each partner should complement the other – a symbiotic effort. It is a losing strategy if one player puts in maximum effort while the partner is unable to support the game. It is the same in all relationships, the intention and effort has to be collaborative for it to be successful. At work imagine if the boss was totally driven and focused on the goals without being equally supported by the colleagues? Would they reach their sales targets?

Another important factor is skill. Expertise is being so good that there are no errors. The better game is a result of FEW or no errors and this is the final key to success and winning.

The 3 keys to winning are intention, collaboration and skill.