So today I played in this doubles tournament and everything was going fine. My partner and I won the first game and we were very excited to play our next match. When we were called and we went to our court, we found out that we were playing against the best team in the competition. That didn't matter to me or my partner, we would just try our best...

It was obvious since the beginning of our rallies that they would win... But I did not expect that one of my opponents would be so arrogant and cocky! During the match , he would purposely smash right into me or my partner and say a fake "sorry" and turn away. He also started doing some around the back shots to return our smashes, which really humiliated us, and in addition, they would not go for shots that required too much running, since they were so confident that they would win! They never helped pass the birdie to me or my teammate after a shot went into the net, and they were just plain cocky. I really didn't want to play them after they won a few points. When we finished, I swear if there wasn't anyone there I would kick the guy's ass when I gave shook hands with him.

So what should I have done with him? Should I have just walked off the court and forfeited? Should I have complained to him? All I know is that I'm going to train really hard this year so that next year I can get some revenge :mad:

there's only been once where i didn't shake my oppostion's hand was when he was being rude and offesnive to me and my partner so at the end of the game i just walked off the court :mad:

Develop mental toughness. (search for it on BF)
Don't be distracted by their antics.
Don't descend to their level.

I was about to say "get over it" or "forget it", but you should remember it as an example of what not to do.
Don't keep thinking of it as a humiliating defeat. Everybody loses sometime. Try to learn from it.

as you continue playing and hopefully keep competing, you will from time to time meet up with these little annoying petty people. there's nothing you really can do, but at the same time, it's beneath you to stoop to their level. most people have decent upbringing and have been taught to respect others and have common courtesy.

although these are only words from an oldie - believe me when i say to you - everyone gets their just desserts in due time. whatever you do, keep to your own dignity and respect. of course, work hard to improve so this doesn't happen again, or make it harder for them next time.

but when you are at the next level - just try to remember not to turn into the very thing you hated just now.

To me, sportsmanship is more important than the actual skill in sports. The greatest players who gain tons of respect, are known for their superior skills as well as good personality (besides several unique characters which I don't want o metion).

Personally, I believe there are always better one out there skill vise, there's no point to just show off my little "tactic" to others. Plus, getting buddies around will surely make me feel more comfortable than being a public enemy.

Wondering what kinda face expression this guy / pair will have, once they meet some other good pairs, and get into trouble in matches.

While I don't for a moment condone their attitude, I don't see why their play (i.e. smashing at your body, not trying to get shuttles, etc) would annoy you. Sure some of the tactics are a sign of disrespect but you're playing in a tournament. You're there to compete. They're there to compete. If I were playing against a team like that, it would motivate me to play harder since their arrogance gives you a chance to win some points (and maybe the match). Remember, don't get mad, get even!

What would you have said if they went full out on you? Would you have complained that since they were so much better, they shouldn't have tried so hard? Just some things to think about...

Originally posted by valourarc
While I don't for a moment condone their attitude, I don't see why their play (i.e. smashing at your body, not trying to get shuttles, etc) would annoy you. Sure some of the tactics are a sign of disrespect but you're playing in a tournament. You're there to compete. They're there to compete. If I were playing against a team like that, it would motivate me to play harder since their arrogance gives you a chance to win some points (and maybe the match). Remember, don't get mad, get even!

What would you have said if they went full out on you? Would you have complained that since they were so much better, they shouldn't have tried so hard? Just some things to think about...

Good point. I did not think about this "layer" when I first read.

Yeah, some times if we switch the "role", we might feel a little bit hard to draw the line as well. Therefore, hold up our own standard, and try to be sportsman like. For others, let the general public give out the grade.

Reading the original post, I don't see many cocky attribute as perceived by the poster. Playing in a tournament is very different than playing socially. Personally for me a tournament is a friendly warfare (I know, I know, it can be understood as an oxymoron). I am there to compete and to win. And so is the other competitors. If I can sneak in fun as one of the purpose, it will be for my sole well being. Hopefully other contestants will also include it. Losing is very hard to swallow because it also involves pride. :)

I have competed against friends before and we have to be professional about it. On court, we will try to win at our very best, including using psychological tactic. :o After the competition, we are still friends and will go out for ice-creams and such. We also spar together during practice. Sometimes I have also befriended court opponents.

Yes, it is very difficult to adjust from tournament mode to social mode (and vice versa). That is one of the many reasons a few friends don't play in social environment after retirement. They enjoy competition and will play only with fellow competitors.

Having said this, I will not condone cockiness and I think Neil and Badrad have covered it well.

As for your future tournament playing with such players: I notice that you wrote "they would not go for shots that required too much running". Perhaps you can exploit this better in your future encounter.

Good luck.

Originally posted by Swordfish712
So today I played in this doubles tournament and everything was going fine. My partner and I won the first game and we were very excited to play our next match. When we were called and we went to our court, we found out that we were playing against the best team in the competition. That didn't matter to me or my partner, we would just try our best...

It was obvious since the beginning of our rallies that they would win... But I did not expect that one of my opponents would be so arrogant and cocky! During the match , he would purposely smash right into me or my partner and say a fake "sorry" and turn away. He also started doing some around the back shots to return our smashes, which really humiliated us, and in addition, they would not go for shots that required too much running, since they were so confident that they would win! They never helped pass the birdie to me or my teammate after a shot went into the net, and they were just plain cocky. I really didn't want to play them after they won a few points. When we finished, I swear if there wasn't anyone there I would kick the guy's ass when I gave shook hands with him.

So what should I have done with him? Should I have just walked off the court and forfeited? Should I have complained to him? All I know is that I'm going to train really hard this year so that next year I can get some revenge :mad:

There are several issues/concerns mentioned. First of all, it's a tournament so you would expect your opponents to play to win. If it so obviously one-sided, your opponents could try and quickly end the match but then they could be looking at it as more practise. As for smashing into the body, that's one technique to score a winning point as it will most likely force a weak return for an outright kill shot so there is nothing wrong with that. What would be wrong is your opponent deliberately aiming for you with the intent to injure.

Not helping pass the birdie back, etc is just plain bad manners. I would have just stood at the T waiting for them to scoop the birdie over to my side.

If they are showboating, then they will get into the habit of doing that for their next match and probably lose. That's their problem, ain't it? If they are returning your smashes and not going for shots which require them to run, then you should take advantage of that (i.e. drops insteading of smashing at them or aim for open areas, force them to move (side-side, front-back, etc.). You should be going into a match with a match strategy and if that strategy is not working, you must be willing to change it in order to give yourself an opportunity to win the match.

The bottom line is as Badrad had pointed out is that you will encounter folks like this and also others who would tell you what you should do and where you should be standing, etc. to receive shots eventhough they are not at a good level. Just either grin and bear it and take it as a challenge to improve your level of play so that you can kick their a**es the next time you guys meet in a tournament. Good luck.

A few years ago I made it as a spare on my school team, after waiting for a long time at the tournament for someone to get injured my coach told me to join my best friend and play a game, the other team was just like this, they were being really cocky and trying to smash straight at us.

We were down 9-2, (just first to 11), they hit the bird right in my partners's face, (10-2), we just got frustrated, what'll the people say back at school?, so this just motivated us to do better, and we found out their weak spot, they just can't handle high serves

We got our score back, and won 11-10,

Im pretty sure there were a few shots where they just stood there waiting for the shuttle to come down, looking up, and it hit their face.

It was pretty funny. our whole school team was happy for us, it was the miracle of the tournament.

And I was only a spare!!

:D

Their attitude didn't affect my play much... I still did my best. My best wasn't enough however. They were in complete control of the match from start to beginning. It was extremely hard to exploit their cockiness(getting them to move); their on the line flick serves and netroll drop shots etc. just kept forcing weak returns.

I wouldn't have minded if they just went all out and beat me 15-0. That's happened to me before, and I respected my superior opponents. But when my opponents are just fooling around, playing around with me like I'm their "toy" it really pisses me off.

The smashes on the body weren't a strategic maneuver; the right court could be completely defenseless and they would STILL smash to into me or my partner.

Their arrogance and performance HAS inspired me to work harder on my game this year however.

Okay so point'em out to us, we'll take care of the rest. maybe even play in my old plaid shorts pulled up to my chest, wearing old rim-horn glasses with scotch tape holding it together.

But the positive result to all of this - you have a goal to try to achieve! :)

hi all, just 1 question came up my mind after reading the above... I was just wondering if that was the reason behind Candra Wijaya splitting with Sigit becoz of Sigit's usual trick shots that hez done so many times in important matches? those situations are usually end up Candra and Sigit looking at each other n Sigit appologising....

I kinda know how Sigit feels btw... after watching how he plays those tricky shots I learnt it and practised it so many times, it became a natural of me to play shots under my shorts and around the back return of shots when receiving smashes in my doubles game.... advantage of playing that is that u get more time to respond but however the replies are usually low quality defensive shots most of the time or if lucky a few straight in2 your face "drive"??

so, ignoring the other cocky factors that you were talking about... those tricky shots are highly exploitable if you analyze your game effectively during the match

They've split? When did this happen?

Swordfish,

Sounds debatable to me wether the opponents are cocky or not. It sounds like they are supremely confident of winning for that particular match. Maybe they would play differently against stronger opponents.

The smashes on the body weren't a strategic maneuver; the right court could be completely defenseless and they would STILL smash to into me or my partner. Hitting to the body is still a worthwhile strategy to win the point:rolleyes: Sounds like the opponents were successful in affecting your psychological game as well. So you lost on skills and the mental game.

It could be a case of you being a bit sensitive or being a hard loser but you've taken the right attitude in using the experience to motivate yourself to raise your game.



As a note to BF members, I feel the main point of this thread is to learn from the experience and from other people's opinions. Actually naming certain people as having undesirable behaviour is not really fair(no chance to defend themselves), and therefore text related to identifying people have been deleted.

hey sword.. i have been through like u before... those old cocky uncles huh.....tell u what i do.. when i play against them i PURPOSELy smash everyshot very hard at them... never been over my head before but what u can do is practise very hard and be determine to beat them.. By then... u should be able to give them a hard fight.. no kidding.. don;'t let their over confidence defeat u.. U can beat them.. their nothing special.. do your best.

Well maybe some players are just arrogant on the court..or they may seems like. But you also have to observe them off-court.
For me if i encounter any arrogant players.. i will strive myself to play harder.. and try to win them..:) Their antics are just another motivation to me. :)

If they did nothing outside the rules they certainly suceeded in winding Swordfish and his partner up, if both pairs had been of equal ability then swordfish would have lost because the opponents upset him. Whilst we may not like this kind of "cocky" behaviour it is part of the game at every level and players must learn to deal with it.

At the end of the day people will only remember who won , not who was pleasant!

I agree with what Cheung said about 'psychological game'.

You just got to show them who's boss and not be disturbed by their attitude towards the game. Afterall, the purpose of playing in the tournament is to win, right?? So you have to be the best and show you are the best in order to win.

One thing I find about playing aginst these people is that my smashes gets better and harder because I vent all my anger out by smashing the shuttle to them. :p If they return it, fine, I keep plugging away with it. Eventually, either they or you would break - you just got to stay strong and cool-headed about it. Don't be hard on yourself if you make silly mistakes here and there, it can be corrected if you start thinking why you make that shot and how not to do it again.

Ok, if you go full out on them, you wouldn't have enough energy to play other games but still, you're proving a point that you are there to win and it can intimidate other players that are watching you play.

That's my two pence worth.

I would have to agree with most of the other posters that the opponents did not sound like they were being cocky. Obviously how they were playing was not very forgiving. It is always frustrating to be beaten by someone who breaks your mind before they break your body. It's another technique to use when playing badminton, and unfortunately it's not always the most friendly. How you act on the court can of course reflect how you act off the court.

Hey swordfish.

I tend to agree with Cheung that smashing to the body is a legitimate strategy since it is very difficult to defend. As for the show boating/trick shots...

On a social level: In club play, I try to pull trick shots myself during a game just because I just want to have fun. It's totally acceptable and is open for some laughs and Ooh's and Aahs... :)

Tourney level: You have to appreciate the fact that they can pull it off even if you're trying your best. HOWEVER badminton is a mental game too and you need to ignore what your opponent is doing and channel that agression and focus so that the next time you play them they have to play you more seriously. It's a tournament and everyone is there to win. Emotions are high and there is a lot of pressure.

Side note: I'm from Richmond too... went to C.E. London. If you want to hit around sometime give me a PM.

Good luck!

sounds very annoying that does. personally i know that im a good player but still hold respect for all players at all levels of the game. if i play someone that isnt as good as me or is just starting out, i try and make a game of it and not just belt it back at them all the time. at the end of the day we all started at the bottom and we expected respect so why get cocky and arrogant? id love to play these guys to put them in their place. an example of this is that i go to friendly sessions where the standard isnt bad but it doesnt really offer me a great challenge. however they are great bunches of ppl who just turn up for the fun of it and thats why i go. i give out tips and coaching to the youngsters and have earnt my respect from doing this. the only players i disrespect are the ones who think they own the court and are rude/cocky to opposition. one guy once turned up and refused to partner one of the kids because he wasnt good enough. i said it was out of order so i partnered the kid and took this guy and his partner on and made sure i hammered everything to win. we won 15-10 or something like that but just proves a point. havent seen the guy since!

During the match , he would purposely smash right into me or my partner and say a fake "sorry" and turn away. He also started doing some around the back shots to return our smashes, which really humiliated us, and in addition, they would not go for shots that required too much running, since they were so confident that they would win! They never helped pass the birdie to me or my teammate after a shot went into the net, and they were just plain cocky.

Yeah, to many players like that. I find that getting mad is pointless. I just think hes a pathetic **** whos trying to affect my game. The sooner one realizes that then it's your turn bring the game to him...MUAHAHAHAHA

About the smashes there ain't really much to do untill you become better. If they don't run to take the shuttle then that's fine. You won the point right?

If they don't pass the shuttle it's the umpires job to tell him to act as a badminton player should. If not, DO the SAMe to him/them! Simple as that, they started it and since the umpire is smoking up in a corner somewhere you now challenge your opponent instead of just swallowing his s**t.

I know what kind of players you mean, they just radiate this cocky and bimbo aura hahah. Ask them if their mother know who the father is, that will get 'em fired up:D :D

I know that I wouldnt stop playing the 'annoying game' until they lie crying on the floor!!!
Train hard, like you said, and be ruthless but also learn to annoy the other player if he does it himself. It's such good entertainment to see such a game.

All I know is that I'm going to train really hard this year so that next year I can get some revenge :mad:

You've already made an answer for yourself. :)

Apart from their rudeness in not returning the shuttle when its on the floor i don't really see them as being too bad. What they did was to your advantage... if they think they are so great that they don't have to move then you got yourself a big advantage. And like many people have already said smashing to the body is apart of the game and its a good tactic. I have never hesitated to smash it at an opponents body whether is be Legs or chest sometimes even head nor do i mind if i get smashed there... hehehe we play for head shots !

BEST SOLUTION:


GET BETTER THAN THEM AND BE0AT THEM NEXT TIME

Turn frusteration into focus.

There's playing hard, then there's being a prick.
Even when I come up against someone that is not to my level, I still play hard, but I don't try to humilate a person. I'd rather hit a trick slice on someone at a higher level than some poor beginner.

I consider good court manners (like giving the shuttle over when you've hit the net) a completely seperate issue from how one plays. Then again I've threatened to pulp a doubles partner once for making bad line calls on purpose. (You tend to hear the term "ah, close enough" from me)

sorry to hear that that happened to you but from what you have said thats not to bad. there was one guy who goes to play with us and well hes just a total ass on the court and he can get really cocky all i would do was just laugh at whatever he said and then just go crazy on him and it shut him up real fast. dont let it get to you i mean if your focusing on the little things then what happens to your overall game it was mentioned before that its a psychological game and i say thats completly true and you cant let them get to you. but also dont go down to their level. they are trying to keep you down, demoralize you in a way but dont let them, if they say/do something then dont listen to them just play as hard as you can win or lose.

just drawing from personal experience about 2 months ago i was playing at a gym and there was one guy and all his friends and then me and a few people that i had just met and played with. the people i was playing with were beginners but i did not mind it was not bad playing with them and helping them. so anyways this guy comes over and challenged one of them and beat her but well he was not so good himself just a little bit better but after the win he got real cocky. it was just so disgusting to watch what was happening so what i challenged him and when i did he was started to insult me about how hes going to crush me and all this other stuff i was like ok. so we went on the court i figured i would put him in his place but not before having a bit of fun, so i let him get 5points on me and by that time he was just letting it fly. he was just letting it all out insults and everythig i just smiled and laughed i won back serve and then the next 15 points after the match he was just standing on the court and well he wasnt saying anything anymore. meh just personal experience i know its not really like your situation but just though i would share.

im not sure if this is realli about cocky players or not. Because, although its true dare are alot of high level cocky players.... but.. in a sense if they are confident they would win for sure.... then they believe in their skills.. and... lets be honest... there is a reason for it. Im not sure, but to me, it sounds like the "bad" thing about all this so far is the fact that, you were humiliated and felt extremely powerless. It seems to be a bigger blow towards the ego, than them being cocky. Let us all be honest here... everyone here who have played against a lower level opponents.. what do you do? Do you really go all out? or do you "torment" them. maybe that sounded bad.. haha but..... aniways... my point is... Im glad you took the experieence and decided to train and improve yourself. I have been in your situation before , in which i felt completley powerless about.. a year ago, when i played against a member of the junior USA team. I felt completely powerless and weak against him. I must admit, i was mad and depressed. However, that encouraged me to train as hard as i can. ANd now im actuli lookin forwards to a rematch against him.

To sum everything ive said up, i would have to say, i think what your opponents did in the tournament was normal and legit. The setting is a tournament afterall.

Hi guys. Just gonna add a 2c.

Not passing the shuttle is wrong, obviously. Smashing at the body is OK provided that it is required to win the point, generally when the point is being contested reasonably well. If it could be easily won without this tactic, then so be it. Smashing at a player who cannot return the point where it is not required, is not good form. Also, not giving your opponents anything other than a good effort is disrespectful, and by this I mean that all possible points should have been saved. Beating a floundering opponent by performing offensively only enough to win is fine, but you shouldn't let points go against you out of laziness and confidence. That is disrespectful.

We have a small badminton competition as part of the Arafura games in Darwin, which attracts perhaps 3rd-4th tier national teams and even individuals from places such as Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Brunei and other places, as well as some teams from around Australia. Our club here has some capable players but we're really devoid somewhat of proper coaching and racquet services.
I remember one match in which a Darwin player played an excellent fellow from Chinese Taipei. The Darwinian absolutely tried his arse off but lost 21-2, 21-1. The CT player wasn't playing at or anywhere near 100%, but he did not give away the points he lost (some errors on his part, which may have been let, but not blatantly).
However, I think the Darwinian fellow gained respect for the effort with which he played the match. He gave it all he had, and at all times the opposition player preserved the dignity of the match as a whole and the players as individuals simply by being a gentleman about the affair, even if it was one sided.
This match up was probably WAY more one sided than the match up of the initial post, yet one was conducted with dignity and the other was not.

Some of you may have heard of an Australian player named Ben Lee. He has represented Australia in some international tournaments, but I don't think he is a top Australian player yet (although he did tell me he'd made some breakthroughs in the past year or so). He played this years Arafura games and the many of the players there were generally as good as or better than his level as he played during the tournament. So they were pretty damn good by MY standards ;).

Russki Bear

A top player always gives 100%, never lets points go, and works at reducing errors. Your opponents might have been stronger than you, but they probably arent at a top level.

A pro golfer was asked what they thought about a member of the crowd who distracted him on an important shot. He was not upset at the person; he was upset at himself for not focusing enough...

Concentrate on your game. Let your opponents play theirs.

A top player always gives 100%, never lets points go, and works at reducing errors. Your opponents might have been stronger than you, but they probably arent at a top level.

A pro golfer was asked what they thought about a member of the crowd who distracted him on an important shot. He was not upset at the person; he was upset at himself for not focusing enough...

Concentrate on your game. Let your opponents play theirs.

*clap clap* Wow. Haha, words of wisdom.
I should take in what you've been through and not act like that and learn how to avoid when it happens to me.

<3 this badmintoncentral

I would train very hard and then humuliate him more next year, like driving into his head, smashing at his jewels XD:D

I would train very hard and then humuliate him more next year, like driving into his head, smashing at his jewels XD:D

You know what they did might be wrong (to whatever degree), then u want to do it back to them. Sometimes, blood for blood might not be a good idea... :cool:

Well you can't do much if your opponent win you. They have the right to be cocky. You just need to train harder and hope to beat them again next time. :)

Well blood 4 blood is justice in my mind

Retribution over a bit of bad sportsmanship and dented pride isn't worth it IMO. Forget about it, and try to make them take you seriously next time. Don't worry so much ;)

Yeah !, you have those type of players in most of the clubs

there is basic etiquette in every sport, most of it just common sense,
when I play , normally try my best to adhere to those etiquette.

I hated when someone would kick the birdie to me ( it hasn't happened to often ). I grew up watching many international players, I don't get impressed easily.

When I run into players with an attitude I just ignore them.

Don't let obnoxius player get into you, just play and practice hard, one of these days you if you get a chance then kick his a... in badminton..

keep that racket swinging !