Legendary Malaysian badminton player Dato’ Lee Chong Wei jumped on the bandwagon and played pickleball last night (July 13). He was accompanied by the President of Badminton Association Malaysia (BAM) himself, Tengku Zafrul.
According to Chong Wei, he is still far from being a “pro” in the pickleball game, but enjoyed a friendly rivalry in the game with Tengku Zafrul.
“Sports are not just about competition, but about strengthening bonds.”
“There were plenty of laughs, and some friendly rivalry!”
In the meantime, Chong Wei also shared the origin of the name of the game.
The pickleball game is said to have obtained its name from the inventor’s dog, whose name is Pickles, who used to chase the ball.
Chong Wei joked that if the inventor had a cat instead, with the name Oyen, a familiar term for orange cats in Malaysia, the name of the game could’ve sounded a lot different.
Oyenball.
According to CBS Sunday Morning, the origin of the name that Chong Wei mentioned was just one of the lingering theories.
Another theory suggests that the name “pickleball” is believed to be derived from the term “pickle boat,” which refers to a boat with mismatched rowers, reflecting the mixed-up nature of the game’s equipment and rules.
In case you are unaware of pickleball, the game combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. It is, however, not a new phenomenon as the game itself was invented in 1965 in Washington, USA.
From 2021 to 2024, Pickleball was named the fastest-growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
