hasn't everybody played these guys? those in the gym who looks like they are 70 yrs of age, slow, clumsy looking, often wearing simple old fashion t-shirt and Chinese style badminton shoes. age is not on their side, lacking in power, they hardly ever smashes at you. but even so, but they are the craftiest players. they know exactly where it hurts - they always find the hole in your formation, dropping the birdie tight and fast to the emptiest spot of your court. they can read your shots well, if you try to smash at them, they can return them to your most difficult spot, they will manipulate you till you make a mistake. calm and never panic.
don't be angry kwun, one day you can play like that too The trick to these old folkies is to move them around, not with conventional hard smashes. Each time they move they fall behind a bit more so after few rallies, u can open a big hole on their side or induce a weak clear.
Heh, yep. I always make the assumption that they're old so they must be easy to beat! However, most of the time I'm wrong. They seem like typical badminton players when I watch but they have really good placement and shots during a game. Man, it's nuts.
singles i don't have that much a problem against really old people... but mainly doubles..... but then for doubles, i figure that smashing is a waste of my energy, so i just drop and clear it til they're pretty much dead....
here's a little secret about old people: almost every old person usually has one or more problems with their body - physically limiting them. the trick for you is to find what it is on that opponent. most older players have weak lower backs, so stretching backward for high deep clears from a short drop shot can be tough on them. other players may have different weaknesses - eyesight, weak or damaged knees, shoulder problems or pains when playing too much or too hard. Just simply run them into the ground. Often a smashing game or raising the pace of the game will do it to them, provided your basic skill set can allow you to do that. If you don't have the basic skill set to do it, then you can always outlive them - hahahaha.....
I don't know about this because almost half of all the players I used to play with on Saturdays are over 40. One particular 50+ old timer was especially wicked with the placement and wrist control. It's almost impossible to trick him! Even the guy about my age who is quite good had a hell of a time trying to outplay him. The older guy is not as active or as strong, neither does he smash much, but his drops and mid-air deceptions are good enough to make you freeze. Worst still, some of us are already out of breath after the second game, but the old man just goes on and on... Sometimes I'm content enough to just sit at the side and see him play. Thus, the adage "with age, comes wisdom".
Hey, my young friends, Please don't bully the old man in me and my kind. The fact that they have lasted so long and still kicking around should tell you that they must have something in them. Some of their virtues and strengths have been well publicized here, so you guys better watch out! Actually there should be a handicapping system, as in golf, when a young pair is pitted against an older (e.g. 50 and above) pair to level off the playing field and to make it more interesting and competitive for the youngsters. Something like 1 point for every year above 50. So there is incentive for a guy aged 65 to challenge his much younger opponent of say even 20. Why not take up the challenge. Then you'll know who will win! Ha, Ha, Ha....
I agree with your points. It's easier in Singles, but playing doubles against older ppl can be quite difficult! They don't often smash, they're not really fast, their skill/technique seems wierd sometimes..... but what makes them difficult to beat is they rarely make mistakes, plus pretty good defence. Also, their experience means that they can usually anticipate your shots! And they can really find open areas on the court!
Yes, it's so frustrating. you think you got that open area covered, and then the old guy hits the shuttle to your body. You think you are on balance, and then suddenly you're falling over. After one game like that, I feel like I've been tied up!!
This is an entertaining thread Things I think we learn with age, and most good older player have mastered: Keeping the shuttle in the court! In defence it good to block and slow down the game a bit rather than trying to go drive /drive Percentage return of serve, brushing the shuttle to the sides or centre without error gets you into every rally in an attacking position Playing each game on its merit, i.e. not thinking they're too good or I should win because I'm ranked higher All these things are difficult to learn without experience and often taking away a player's power develops these areas On a slighlty different topic we don't see a lot of ex top players around playing. For instance there is a world masters event in Europe this week but I don't think a lot of the 35 + star players are playing. I remember a few years ago YY played Zhao in a masters! 35 is quite young to be in "masters", I mean players like Darren Hall, Hoyer, were as good as ever at 35. I guess a lot of players have had enough by then and just play socially.
yes. i think we're all talking about the same type of players. they don't play physically, they beat you with their mind. whenever i see these type of players, i can eventually, with a lot of work, smash them to the ground, but that would not be of much fun. instead, i try to play their pace, slow but tricky. challenge myself to make less mistake than they do, play the same mind game, use the same trick to trick them back. i usually discover a different dimension of the game, not the mindless power ones, but one that requires constant observation and using the mind to think about the game. quite cool.
Kwun, I do exactly the same thing! I like to play to people's strengths and try and beat them at their own game (as it were). It's quite challenging since they're obviously good at what they do. Unfortunately, I almost always lose when I try to play the consistent clear/drop game since my game is smashing at the lines. Like you said though, it does develop other parts of your game if you restrict what you can do.
yes. i agree, it is challenging and fun too. and this happens in international level too. if i remember correctly, a recent example is AE2003 semi Chen Hong vs. Roslin. CH was smashing as Roslin at the beginning of the game, Roslin is a natural runner so he was getting CH's attack, as result, CH is just running around the court wasting energy. later in the game, CH changed his style and started to move Roslin around the court. Roslin wasn't as consistent and eventually CH won the match. if CH had stuck to his original offensive style, i bet he would've ran out of gas before the match was over.
well since I am usually the youngest player at the places I play badminton, everyone seems like that to me. just some older than others. these crafty veterans of the court are excellent sources of knowledge and usually they are great at providing them too.
crafty old players where i play there are a few of those people to. its fun to watch young people who think there all that and really good get thier asses whopped so badly by 1 man. ive learned a great deal just watching these people and a great laugh when they get challenged by a few idiots.
