Did anyone notice a puff of smoke that came from the shuttles when they were hit very hard and very cleanly... i noticed the most amount of smoke coming from taufiks racket! seems like he hits the shuttles VERY cleanly!

This is the coating on the feathers or the paint from the court coming off (I am not sure which). When you watch it happen it looks really cool, the shuttle flies but the powder stays.

It tends to only happen once per shuttle and you can only generally see it against a dark surface.

post a video of it, i've never noticed this before!

it doesnt show in videos and ive never seen it myself.... thursday was the first time ive been to a live professional match. I think the puff of smoke is only visible when the shuttle is struck hard and early in its life... it looks extra cool and quite "macho" like someones knocking the crap out of it lol

post a video of it, i've never noticed this before!

I noticed that when Lee Wan Wah was warming up with Choong Tan Fook in their mens doubles quater final, and I was wondering what that might be...

Top quality feather shuttles come lightly coated with a gluey compound that helps keep out moisture (the water-repelling properties of bird feathers fade once the feathers are off the bird).

This coat is also the reason the feather stems soon become brittle.
Try a barrel of shuttles stocked for a long time... and you'll see that the feathers break easily.

The 'puff' you see is the powder coming off on the first hard hit.
As this is less noticeable in humid conditions, it's surprising that this was evident at the All England Open.

Isn't it drizzling now in the UK? :confused:

The 'puff' you see is the powder coming off on the first hard hit.
As this is less noticeable in humid conditions, it's surprising that this was evident at the All England Open.

Isn't it drizzling now in the UK? :confused:

It is a bit more than a drizzle where I　am!

I have to say I　didn't notice it this year, but this is probably due to my lack of observation and where I　was sat. In AE if you sit to one side of the court, you will se it on the black background of the drapes. I　was central.

as it was only day 2 i was everywhere lol.... amazing badminton

that 's force of chi.

If i have to make a good guess, the smoke you noticed was the powder that Taufik rubbed on his racquet string to increase friction. He might be doing it to help slicing.

chibe_k do you mean grip powder that he has put on his strings?

I　didn't know they did that. If this is the case (I am not doubting you however) they why would it not be obvious from the first swing and stroke?

I just watched that quarterfinal between Taufik Hidayat Vs Lee Chong Wei :)

We see the 'puff' on Taufik's first clear as he begins warming up.
What's significant is what was doing a few moments earlier.

He was dusting his racquet grip (and not the string-bed) with a generous dose of powder... probably boric acid. (The small plastic bottle is in his palm as he walks out for the toss.)

Had it been the dried glue on the shuttle, we'd have seen only a small puff. This one is hardly a puff... it's more an explosion of powder ;)

PS: I shudder to think of all that powder going into Taufik's lungs right before the match :(

Honestly speaking, I've been playing baddie for the last 20yrs, and I've not seen or heard anything like this. It will be cool if I could watch it on YouTube or MyTube or LondonTube :eek::D

It is the shuttlecock shouting "OUCH!".

Yeah , It's the powder stuff he puts on his racket. I seen this at the sudirman cup 2007. I remember because i was wondering what it was , I thought it looked cool Lol !

Just get some Johnsons & Johnsons Baby Powder, or some knock-off China brand (a dig against taneepak's China Quality Goods thread) and sprinkle some on the shuttle. You'll see the puff of smoke! :D

-dave

Maybe the racket is taking a "smoke break"!!!!!!:D

:p:p:p:pIt is the shuttlecock shouting "OUCH!".
lol Extremly amazing