Raju Rai - 2008 USA Olympic Team member, 6 x USA National Champion, and Bellevue Badminton Club head coach will be leaving Seattle and moving to San Francisco on March 1st 2010.

Raju Rai wanted to leave some of his thoughts with us as this has been a tremendous experience and a wonderful opportunity for him at the Bellevue Badminton Club.

Dr Sing (Executive Vice President) and Florette Lam attending Raju Rai farewell party. Other Founders of Bellevue Badminton Club family in attendance were, Geoff Stensland (President), Kenny Lu (Vice President), Tom Desbrisie (Founder), Clinton Chen (Founder) and Ying Fang Lai (Founder). Other BBC directors in attendance were Head coach Huaiwen Xu and Paz Ben-Sira. "We all wish Raju Rai the best for his future and thank you for brining tremendous energy to the Seattle region badminton. We are very thankful!", Kenny Lu.

Thank You letter to Bellevue Badminton Club

"First foremost, I would like to thank God. God has blessed me with such a wonderful life filled with lots of love, good fortune, and success surrounded by great family and friends. I could not ask for more and I will continue to live my life the way you intended me too.

My family, words can never express how much you mean to me. You are the reason I am the man I am today. From the day I came into this world, you have showered me with endless love, care, and support. I could not have achieved what I have without you in my heart and by my side. Through my many lows and highs, you were always there to love me and I can’t say thank you enough. I love all of you.

I would like to thank BBC and Geoff especially, for bringing me to Washington. You have given me an opportunity to be part of such a great community of members and juniors, who have the same love as I do for the game of badminton. Because of this opportunity I have been able to mature as a coach and a human being.

I would like to say thank you to all the coaches; Huaiwen, Paz, Kenny, Boris, Paco, Toru, Peter, Michael, Amy, Ann, Leslie and those who were here before me, Brooke and Wendy. Without your help and support, we would not have been able to be where we are today. The program has flourished so much and it is because of all of your efforts.

To the kids, words cannot express how much you mean to me. I hope all of you will not forget me, because you will forever be in my heart. You are the future of not only this club, but also this world. So please always work hard, give your best effort, and good things are bound to come your way.

To the members, I sincerely appreciate all you have done for me. You have opened your hearts and your homes to me and I am so grateful to have had a chance to get to know you all.

I would like to thank a few individuals who I really got close to during my stay here in Washington:

Paz, you remind me of myself in a lot of ways. Your love and passion for the kids is second to none, and I have not only enjoyed working with you but also am very thankful for the friendship we share.

Kenny, You have always looked out for me to make sure that I was always happy. You put my needs and desires first and I am so thankful to have you as a co-worker and friend.

Huaiwen, even though we haven’t worked together for so long, I have enjoyed getting to know you better. Ever since I first met you in Germany in 2006, I have always admired your strength and professionalism. I wish you all the best and lots of success in the future.

Mr. Mark Jones, my man. You have been a mentor to me during my stay here. I appreciate you always being there for me, whether it was listening to my frustrations or just to offer me some worthy advice. Your words were always kindly appreciated.

Mathew Kirschenbaum, thanks for being a big brother to me. You always gave me much praise and encouragement. I hope to be in touch and dream of seeing your little ones as future champions in whatever path they choose in life. Badminton hopefully. ;)

Lisa Tsang, I don’t think I have ever met someone so selfless, considerate, and caring. It is truly a blessing to have met you and I will continue to strive to follow in your footsteps.

To my roommates; Long, Michael, and Natalie. You opened your home to me and let me into your life. I enjoyed all of our times together and will really miss living with you.

Bryan Cochran, My L.A. buddie. You always respected and understood me. I am so lucky to have gotten to know such a fun and successful person.

Parents, you have not only loved and cared for us coaches, but the kids as well. Without your support in tournaments and training, it would not have been so as fun or successful.

Ying-Fang and your family, I have never met a family who was so crazy about badminton. I loved teaching you and your daughters. It was truly an honor.

The Jin family, you have always been so helpful. Your daughters are such talented girls. I can see them growing into very successful badminton players and young women.

Kathie, You have helped the club grow in many ways we didn’t think were possible. Your passion to do things for others is admirable and the lives that you are touching are truly blessed.

JK, my Indian brother. Thank you for taking care of me. You have a great heart and it was a pleasure to spend time with you. I wish you great success in the future.

BBC Team 1, you have given me inspiration to go after my dreams. A dream, to not only help you achieve your goals in badminton, but in life as well. Though I might not physically be there for you all the time, I am always an e-mail or phone call away. Please stay in touch with me and contact me whenever you need anything, whether it’s for coaching or just advice in general. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and will truly miss all of you.

These are just a few of the people, who have meant so much to me during my stay in Seattle. For those of your names who I may have left out, I sincerely apologize. It is not that I don’t appreciate your support, but merely I can’t find a card big enough to share all my great memories. There are just too many great people in this club.

Lastly, please take my words as inspiration rather than just memories. Life is so much more than just badminton. Always love and care for one another because at the end of the day, all we have is each other. You all have given me confidence and inspiration to further pursue my dreams in route to help the U.S. achieve success in badminton at the highest level. I hope in some way that I have touched your lives like you have mine, and I wish you all endless love, happiness and success in the future and the for the rest of your lives."

May God continue to bless us all,

Raju Rai