Update (21-July-2016) : Guinness World Record is Approved for World’s Largest Badminton .

Apologies for the delay in sharing this blog post.

When I posted the picture above on social media a month ago, a few of my friends messaged me privately, asking what the certificate was for and whether my name would appear in the Guinness World Records book. So, I thought it would be best to share my experience of being part of the Guinness Official Attempt for the World’s Largest Badminton.

However, I got really busy with documentation work for about 15 days, and uploading everything took another week. After that, I had to focus on my postgraduate exams, which I just completed on 23rd May 2016.

Now, coming to the main point — the making of the World’s Largest Badminton. All credit goes to Mr. Dileef, the mastermind behind this project from start to finish. In fact, he completed 85% of the badminton construction by himself.

I actually found out about this event from a street flex banner announcing that Mr. Dileef was attempting a Guinness World Record for the largest badminton. I was initially confused — since he’s an artist and cartoonist, I wondered if he was just drawing a giant picture of a badminton racket. He owns caricature branches across Kerala and had earlier created a 3333 sq. meter caricature of Mahatma Gandhi in 2011. So the idea of a cartoonist “making a badminton” didn’t quite make sense to me at first.

One week before the event, Mr. Dileef called me and asked me to join as the IT Coordinator. We had met a few times before, but he didn’t know me well. In fact, during our last meeting in March (before the event), he had to ask my name again. But now, after spending so much time working together, I’m sure he won’t forget me! 😄 I believe Mr. Salim recommended me, as he and Mr. Dileef are close friends.

The construction of the badminton racket happened on April 2nd and 3rd, 2016, but I joined Mr. Dileef from March 30th to help with pre-production work.

For an official Guinness World Record attempt, there are many strict rules to follow. Most importantly, we needed prior approval from GWR, or else the attempt would be rejected. During the event, we were required to have two official observers, a licensed surveyor, a timekeeper, a videographer, and photographers present at all times.

As the IT Coordinator, my duties included preparing all documentation and evidence according to GWR guidelines. I also had to collect the full video footage and photographs of the entire event, along with the notes from the observers, timekeeper, and surveyor. In total, the photos and video amounted to 214 GB of data.

To be honest, I met many talented and versatile people during this event — artists, athletes, social workers, wildlife photographers, and more. Everyone was down-to-earth and kind, with no ego or arrogance. What I gained from this event was a unique experience and some great connections. I value experience and relationships more than monetary rewards — and this was entirely volunteer work.

Big constructions may look simple from the outside, but the making process is always challenging. We faced several unexpected issues. For example, two of the eight bent metal pipes used for the racket head were incorrectly shaped due to sketching differences. So Mr. Binu and I rushed to the industrial workshop to get them corrected. It was Saturday at 4:45 PM, and we were worried the shop would close. We reached at 5:35 PM after driving 18 km. The owner said the work would be done only if the workers agreed. One Bengali worker refused, saying closing time was 5:00 PM. Thankfully, another worker agreed and fixed the issue — a true blessing.

On 1st April 2016, the industrial workers said they didn’t have the right machine to make the cover for the badminton neck. On the event day, Mr. Dileef made a cover by hand from a flat piece of metal, hammering it into shape. His creativity and problem-solving mindset are truly inspiring. He always says, “Everything is possible if we are willing to do it.”

The largest badminton was constructed on the terrace of the 5th floor of Cosmos Sports. It stands 16.89 meters tall and weighs 244.8 kg. We had to bring it down safely without damaging the glass building. One group quoted 25,000 INR for the job, probably thinking that the higher the object, the higher the price! But we found someone willing to do it for 15,000 INR.

It was remarkable how Mr. Dileef stayed confident and courageous throughout. When scratches appeared on the badminton while bringing it down, some people said, “It’s fine — no one will see once it’s displayed.” But he insisted on repainting it, showing his dedication to perfection. That’s what sets successful people apart — they never give up.

Later, while lifting the badminton with a crane, the head broke off! We had to lower it, weld it again, and repaint it. My heart was pounding — all our hard work could have been ruined. But with God’s grace, we managed to display it successfully on the ground.

We had originally planned to start the documentation work the next day, but another issue came up. The video files we recorded had no sound when played in Windows Media Player, although they worked fine in VLC. Even worse, the sound wouldn’t load in my video editor either. The video format was MTS.

I started investigating why the audio wasn’t working. When I asked a few videographers, they showed me their MTS files, which played with sound in both Windows Media Player and video editors. I tried converting my MTS files to MP4 using different converters, but the result was always the same — no sound. A video without audio felt like a dead file.

Finally, one videographer recommended a converter that had worked for him, but he didn’t have the installation file. Later, I searched online and luckily found the same converter by name.

I carried out the documentation work from my uncle Mr. Nazar Kannanchery’s office, with his permission. His office, a travel agency that hadn’t started operating yet, is about 5 km from my home. I began the work on April 8th, 2016.

I started with the video files, which took several days because I had to break them down into the main highlights. I created video segments showing different stages of development, each about 30 to 40 minutes long. I wrote down all the timestamps on a white paper, then cut and converted the clips accordingly. Mr. Dileef and Mr. Majeed (the program coordinator) were with me during this process, helping to identify the key portions to highlight. The splitting and converting process took several days to complete.

Doing Video Editing for Guinness Evidence with Mr.Dileef, yesterday 07:45 PM till 01:45 AM & tday started 02:30 PM. pic.twitter.com/VuSpTY7AGG

— Niyaz Kannanchery (@niyazsky) April 9, 2016

I organized everything into separate folders titled: Purchase Material, Industrial Work, Outline Drawing on Floor, Making Head, Neck, Handle, Spray Painting, Weaving Net, Object Measurement, Rexine Cover, and Final Object. Then, I started combining the videos from each folder into single files with proper titles for each stage. This editing work was completed on April 16th, 2016.

After that, we began classifying the folders and sorting out the photos. We also started preparing all the required documents, including the cover letter, five program observation reports, surveyor statements, and more. Everything was finalized by April 30th, 2016 — and the entire submission package was ready for upload.

Time : 11: 34 PM | half of this month spent for Guinness Evidence Preparation, Will come to end today. #UPLOADING pic.twitter.com/WW6GD3INZT

— Niyaz Kannanchery (@niyazsky) April 30, 2016

During all these days, we worked tirelessly from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and even spent one entire night in the office working straight through until 7:00 AM. Finishing everything as early as possible became our top priority, as we all wanted to return to our regular tasks. We handled every step with great care, double- and triple-checking everything before finally sending it to the Guinness office.

And that sums up my unforgettable experience with the Guinness World Record event.

We’ve now registered for another massive object creation attempt for next year, and we’re currently looking for sponsors. However, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to assist Mr. Dileef this time, as I’m going through a critical phase in my life over the next two years. That said, we’re open to creating any object for any company. It’s Mr. Dileef’s passion to take on challenging tasks, and his strength and determination give us all confidence.

NB : I believe in one core idea: Different experiences can lead us to success. When we venture into different fields, there comes a point when we realize that one of those paths will ultimately lead us to our true success.