World's Fastest Badminton Smash

Few people know it, but badminton is the world's fastest racquet sport. The shuttlecock, that missile of cork and goose feathers, can whip across the net as fast as 260 kilometres per hour. The best don't duck.

Badminton can firmly stake its claim to be the worlds fastest racket sport, with smashes reaching speeds of up to 332 kph.  Chinese men's doubles star Fu Haifeng of China has set the official world smash record of 332 km/h (206 mph) on June 3, 2005 in the Sudirman Cup in Beijing. .

The Badminton World Federation conducted speed trials for the first time at one of its major events, with microwave sensors recording the speed of smashes on the main court at the world mixed team championships.

The fastest smash recorded in the singles competition is 305 km/h (189 mph) by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.  While world number two Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark has recorded the fastest smash for a singles player at 298 kph.

And with womens singles shuttler Huang Sui hitting at 257 km/h, tennis star Andy Roddick's world-record serve of 246 kph is some way off of badminton's blistering pace.

"The speed and agility of these athletes is just amazing," said Alex Loccisano, whose Melbourne-based company is providing the specialist sensors and software, which have also been used at major cricket and tennis events.

"Badminton can certainly consider itself to be the worlds fastest racket sport, and at this rate, will force this speed testing technology to move forward pretty quickly in order to keep up."

The equipment is currently only able to record speeds of up to around 350 km/h, so today's star shuttlers are already pushing the limits. 

The semi final game at the Commonwealth Games 2006 saw the shuttlecock speed record broken for the competition, although not by the Athens silver medallists, Robertson and Emms. Singapore's Hendri Saputra was clocked on the speed gun at 294km/h. That's some way shy of the world record of 332.

See video footage of smash recorded at 305km/h.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r590F7mRTw

Lin Dan to skip international matches in 2013

Lin Dan celebrates after winning the men's singles at the 12th Chinese National Games, in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, Sept 11, 2013. (Photo/Xinhua)

Badminton superstar Lin Dan announced to skip all international events on the 2013 calendar after winning his third straight National Games singles title on Wednesday.

"I don't need to prove myself through competition anymore," said Lin, who beat world No. 3 Du Pengyu 21-18, 21-5 in the final.

Lin, who just made a successful return to action at the Guangzhou world championships, said he will return to China's national team in February 2014.

"I hope to spend more time with my family," he said. "I want to enjoy the life."

"But I will play for the national badminton league which starts this October," he added.

Lin, who represents the People's Liberation Army (PLA), had also won the gold medals in the 2005 and 2009 National Games. This year, he led the PLA to win their first bronze medal in men's team event.

"I feel very proud of that. It's my fourth National Games. I entered the finals all the time and took third consecutive crown today," said Lin, who took the badminton world title for the fifth time last month after one year off since the London Olympics.

"The gold medals from world championships and National Games prove the efficiency of my daily training," added Lin.

Despite some impressive smashes and delicate touches close to the net, Du found it hard to make an impression on the agile opponent as Lin scored four points in a row after 16-15 and took the first set 21-18.

In the second set, Du was struggling to keep up with the speed, while Lin injected pace and attacking play with jump slashes and unreachable shots down the lines, eventually securing the victory 21-5.

Back to the court after one-year absence, Lin still seems unbeatable, however he didn't agree on that.

"I never think that I have no opponent, otherwise I would not train so hard everyday," he said. "Perhaps people only see me standing on the podium, but they know little about my hard training."

(Xinhua)

‘Can’t make Lee like Lin Dan’

Malaysian's long-time coach Sue Bock says that the World No. 1 is not as mentally strong as the Chinese superstar.

Every sport has its own little riddles and Badminton too has a special case. The Malaysian Lee Chong Wei might be the world no. 1 but why does he keep failing against Lin Dan, the multiple Olympic and World champion? It's a question that fascinates the Badminton fraternity and who better to answer it than Lee's personal coach Tey Seu Bock ?

The coach offers a very interesting analogy as an explanation. He says that two cars can be similar in make, they can have the same engine and even be the exact shape and size but still you will find one minor detail that differentiates the two. For him as far as talent and skill is concerned he says Lee and Lin Dan are very much alike but he says that the Malaysian does seem to be mentally fragile when it comes to winning that gold medal.

"Lin Dan is mentally much stronger player. He is fantastic, a one in a million so to speak. We can't make Lee like Lin Dan so it was always going to come down to how Lee plays him in big finals like in the Olympics and World championships. But Lee always failed cause Dan always had this mental edge over him," Bock said yesterday.

"Firstly Lee plays far more tournaments than Lin Dan so his rank remains on the top but Lin Dan just peaks in the right events. Lin Dan has everything, so his way of thinking in events is different. He has lot of medals and so the pressure is less. Lee has to deal with many pressures. The pressure of beating Lin Dan, the pressure of winning a medal for Malaysia as all hopes lie on him," the Malaysian coach added.

The world championship earlier in the month looked like the best chance Lee had. Even in the final he was a game up but then injury struck and all hopes faded.

Moving on

Lee, for his part, does not want to talk about the World Championship failure. He is in India to play the Indian Badminton League and he just wants to win his first match. The format seems simple for him. One match a day, shorter than usual badminton matches, against players he can beat in his sleep in front of crowds that love him - Lee has won many tournaments in India, including two India Super Series.

However, you could sense his disappointment; so close to the medal and yet so far.

Bock says that the rest he took after the tournament was not just to escape the physical cramps but to recharge his brain. "The whole of Malaysia wants him to win. But when you are the world No 1, you have to take it when you lose. Malaysia is a small country compared to China who can produce 10 players like him to beat him. We can't do that in Malaysia," says Bock. He adds that it is a similar situation what Saina Nehwal faces.

For now Bock says that Lee is fit again and raring to go in the IBL. Lee has played in the China league for two years and the competition there is fierce compared to what he will face here so handling the pressure of the IBL will be right down his alley.

Bock is also the coach of the Mumbai Masters and the coach says that training players in India is easier that in Malaysia. "Overall Indian standards are better than what it was the last time I came here.

India has 6-7 players who are at the same level. It's different in Malaysia, we have fewer players on a similar level and it becomes difficult to coach there. It is easier to train Indian players for me."

Taufik Hidayat Arena

“Winning is an attitude, but keeping it is a commitment”. That’s the motto of Taufik Hidayat Arena as the house spirit of badminton. Not only built as a sport center that has facilities, THA is structured based on true passion, forms of struggle, and desire of a former of World and Olympic Champion, Taufik Hidayat.

 “At the end of the day, we hope to inspire all Indonesians to have faith and belief in our National Team. Winning or loosing is a dynamic process of being a World Class Champion. And I hope our spirit will inspire many people to form unity, not only just for United Nation of Badminton, but for all sports in Indonesia”, said Taufik Hidayat.

Taufik Hidayat Arena will be the first house of Badminton in the world that is named and owned by the athlete himself, and exclusively managed by Taufik and his dedicated team. THA will eventually open in November 2012, located at Ciracas, East Jakarta, nearby Taufik’s young neighborhood while he joined PBSI. Designed by the renowned architectural team of URBANE Indonesia, headed by Mr. Ridwan Kamil, the building provides innovation and sparkle to the air of Indonesian badminton. The building was designed with two floors to present The Gallery, Dormitory Area, and Yonex Badminton Main Hall on the second floor.

Collaborating with one of the rising independent graphic design studios, The Company Studio, THA was Art Directed by Utari Syaukat and her team. Throughout extended research, Utari has energetically created strong marks of identity for THA to communicate Taufik’s biggest dream, which is to deliver new generations with infinity timeframe. 

One of Taufik’s missions is to make “THA for ALL and ALL for INDONESIA”, not only encouraging the next generation to be better and healthy, but also encouraging all the people of Indonesia to learn how to love sports, show their support to all athletes, and respect their struggle process while battling for Indonesia in the World Tournaments.
All programs were designed and leaded by Taufik and his Coach, Mr. Mulyo Handoyo.

Badminton Hall

Fitness Center

Multifuction Room

Dormitory

Yonex Open Japan 2013: Day 6 - Teen Triumphs in Amazing Campaign

Yonex Open Japan 2013: Day 6 - Teen Triumphs in Amazing Campaign

Sunday, September 22, 2013 - Text by Dev Sukumar | Badmintonphoto

Japan's Akane Yamaguchi became the youngest Women’s Singles winner of a Superseries tournament today – lifting her home title, the Yonex Open Japan 2013.

The 16-year-old capped a fairytale run at the event, beating Shizuka Uchida 21-15 21-19 in an all-Japanese final. The two finalists had already created history a day earlier by ensuring the first-ever title for Japan in the event’s 32-year history.

If the Women’s Singles final marked the start of an exciting new talent, the Men’s Singles final saw perennial champion Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia, 1) reassert his dominance of the Superseries circuit with a record 33rd tour victory. Lee dashed the hopes of Japanese fans in the process, overcoming a stiff challenge from local hope Kenichi Tago (7), 23-21 21-17. China took the Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles crowns, while BWF World champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) won their third Superseries title on the trot in Men’s Doubles.

Yamaguchi’s triumph was the culmination of an extraordinary journey through the week, as the schoolgirl, ranked 145, survived two qualifying rounds and brought down far more accomplished players, such as eighth seed PV Sindhu (India) in the second round and defending champion Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei, 6) in the semi-finals. Against her final opponent Shizuka Uchida, Yamaguchi sped off the blocks with her fast and powerful game. It was only for a brief period in the second that Uchida was able to dictate terms, but Yamaguchi repaired the deficit and edged through for a memorable victory.

Lee Chong Wei had a 13-0 record against Kenichi Tago heading into his Men's Singles final, including victories in four Superseries finals. The Japanese, however, gave a fine account of himself and forced the top seed to come up with his very best. The match saw some big punches and counter-punches from both ends, with Tago leaping high at every opportunity to send his powerful smashes crashing down. Lee kept himself in the hunt with his high-quality defence, but Tago’s sustained intensity saw him earn three game points at 20-17. The champion’s indefatigable qualities came to the fore at this point; his explosive smashes homed in with accuracy, and Tago found himself a game adrift.

Watched by his mother, the former international Yoshiko Yonekura, Tago had a narrow advantage at the mid-game interval in the second, but a few errors proved costly and he was unable to keep the pressure on Lee the way he had done in the first game. A final body smash helped the champion retain his title.

Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan pocketed their fifth major title this year after a tense Men’s Doubles final against China’s Chai Biao/Hong Wei. Although the Indonesians were overwhelming favourites, the Chinese very nearly upstaged them. The first game in particular was a neck-and-neck battle; Setiawan, who usually controls the net, was not allowed to create openings as he normally does. Mohammad Ahsan however compensated admirably, as he frequently jumped high to smash and followed through to the net. Despite a shaky Setiawan erring on his serves a few times, Ahsan’s sustained effort saved the day for the Indonesians.

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Ma Jin and Tang Jinhua (China, 1) won their first title this year with a clinical victory, 21-11 21-14, over Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (Denmark, 3) in the Women's Doubles final. With Ma creating openings at the net, and Tang patrolling the back, the Chinese were never threatened by the Danes, who had a few mix-ups in the match.

* Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei (China, 2) received a walkover from Xu Chen/Ma Jin (China, 1) in the Mixed Doubles final for their fourth Superseries title this year. Zhang/Zhao improved their record over Xu/Ma to 14 wins against just two losses.