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Stumble It!For many students at the University of Kansas, the challenge of adapting to American culture can be very difficult. Learning to speak English, communicating with fellow students and professors, and engaging in social activities are obstacles that the international students face while making a transition to a new way of life. To help ease the transition, a small group of international students from various backgrounds have found an activity that speaks as the common language for all of them. The sport is badminton, the only racquet sport that does not allow a ball to bounce. Each week, students of different ethnic backgrounds come together at the KU Student Recreation Fitness Center to participate in recreational badminton.
Unconventional sports at the Rec.
Tiepan Shi, post-doctorate student from China, far side, plays table tennis with Yuwen Lai, doctorate student, Taiwan.
The KU Rec. Center also offers foot volleyball on Friday nights.
"It gives you an opportunity to attract and network with different people," said Arvind Chappa, doctorate student from India.
He was introduced to the sport a couple of years ago. Chappa developed a higher level of interest by building relationships with other badminton players every weekend when they squared-off on the Rec. Center courts.
"You get to meet people with different cultures, backgrounds, and interests," Chappa said.
Chappa, who originally played tennis, finds playing indoor badminton a welcomed changed in cold winter months in Kansas.
Wei Qiu, graduate student from Beijing, also participates in badminton each week with his foreign counterparts.
"We communicate with each other and talk a lot about badminton," Qiu said.
Qiu and his friends meet together frequently to watch videos of badminton matches while exchanging techniques. The time spent with friends builds stronger relationships and helps the overall improvement of the player, Qiu said.
Foreign students connect by playing badminton
This music video shows the excitement of badminton.
Students are not the only individuals playing badminton. Rajeev Trehan, Honorary Associate Dean of the University of Kansas Medical Center, said that people of different ethnicities all comprehend badminton.
"Badminton is well understood," Trehan said. "It's a common language. It's like an alphabet of its own. We all understand it."
Trehan, who grew up in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1960s, played many racquet sports as a youth. Trehan said he notices students in today's society are trying to find new forms of entertainment.
"When you come from another culture, it's a tremendous mind-shift," Trehan said.
Trehan said he sees students are so intrigued with badminton that they are willing to try out the sport that is virtually unknown to them. Trehan also said that the popularity of badminton has increased each year since it started to become more well-known in the United States in the 1930s. Originally played only by the elite class, including some of Hollywood's finest stars such as James Cagney, Ginger Rogers and Joan Crawford, badminton became reachable to all members of society when the American Badminton Association originated.
The ABA, now known as USA Badminton, united the country's many badminton groups under one organization. The efforts of Don Chew, the president of U.S. Badminton from 2000 to 2004, helped make badminton what it is today.
"He has become a champion of popularizing badminton in the U.S.," Trehan said.
The impact in the U.S. became so great that in 2005, the U.S. produced its first ever championship team in men's doubles. Once considered a sport played by a select few, badminton serves as a unifying force for people of all nations.
Players share their views about the sport they love
On badminton uniting people
On badminton in the U.S.
On badminton and Olympics
On badminton vs. tennis
