As we all know, the Great Panda aka Dinkalot has served this community hugely for several several years, testing rackets, shoes, shuttlecocks, grips, and other things, compiling them and sharing them with us in an effort to spread knowledge about the game. He has even created his own racket brand, Panda Power by DC Badminton, to further the level of playing in the community with affordable rackets that perform at Yonex or better levels. In fact, we are nearing the two year anniversary of his first announcement of the Panda Power "Thunder." I myself have a lot of gratitude for the Great Panda. Reading all of his threads and talking with him several times via email imparted to me a huge amount of badminton knowledge and wisdom. If not for him, I would not be playing at the level I am today, and I would still be using a Carbonex 8600Ti with super grap, still following Yonex blindly, believing I should be paying a premium for premium rackets. Today, I am a proud owner of almost every racket the Great Panda has come out with, except the Ultra 1, and I have turned on 2 others in my Yonex/Victor/LiNing dominated-community to his great rackets. His contributions to Ashaway and his promotion of their strings have led to ZyMax, and ZyMax 67 is now my number one requested string, second only to BG80, and its not even close. ZyMax 62 is my preferred string as well. I believe it is now our time to give back to the Great Panda. He has asked for our prayers concerning his mother. If you are Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or of any other faith tradition where prayer is encouraged, please include his mother in your prayers. If you are not of a faith tradition, then please, extend wishes of hope for Panda's mother in her time of need. This is the least we can do as a community. I know that while I may not be the most devout of Christians, everytime I see my Panda Power rackets, or even think about badminton, Dinkalot comes to my mind. Now, instead of Dinkalot, I am reminded of his mother, and I stop to say a small prayer. I owe so much to him, the very least I could do is pray for his mother everyday. -G
I am sorry to hear this and all the best to mama Dan. She will get well soon, being able to go back to her normal routine. Get well soon mama Dan. Please keep us updated of her status.
This is truly sad to hear. Although I do not pray, your mother will be in my thoughts. Best wishes to your mother and you.
Dear Panda, I will keep Mama Panda and your family in prayer. We share similar faith and I trust God will heal Mama Panda. Best Wishes, Adrian K.
I am very late on this, but i just read Dan's post and i just hope that Mama Panda is going to be okay. Best wishes, Nicholas
Sorry, but Mama Panda has already passed. Please keep her in your prayers, she's in a better place now. Papa Panda is feeling the effects of the loss and has been a little under as well, please continue to keep Dan and his family in your prayers.
