I found Mike Beres and Val Loker's XD Olympic match on Youtube. Loker is CLEARLY over weight. I thought a player like Mike Beres would have a more "athletic" partner when preparing for a tournament like the Olympics. Does anyone know why Mike chose to play with her? Lack of talent in Canada at the time? She is very slow, the Thai's take HUGE advantage of her weight and inability to move side to side and twist and turn. I'm thinking Mike Beres could have went further in the tournament if he had a partner who was actually an athlete. He was really playing well, but his partner..... It's really disappointing. Mike Beres was a really good player. I am just really confused. if it were me, I would not have chosen her to be my partner. what kind of training was she doing prior to the Olympics? how could she step on court with at least 25 - 30 KG's around her waist alone... I'm sorry if I sound rude or insensitive, it's just my opinion.
Yeah I have never understood this either. I mean if you are training almost every day how do you keep the flab. Jwala gutta/Hoon Thien How/Anthony Clark to name a few. They get selected because they are the best players though, that part is a simple answer.
Some are naturally bigger than others. That being said, she definitely looks not in a good shape there. Maybe she had an injury before the Olympics that prevented her from training? She didn't look very confident on the court there.
Hey you're being rude and insensitive. I don't anything about her - so can't comment. The fact she made to the Olympics, indicates she has the ability and skill. Strange an Olympic athlete would be out of shape though!
I don't think it's rude or insensitive. She is a professional athlete after all. While it is true that she was selected to represent her country (which should mean that she was the best candidate at the time), I think the way to look at this is: would she be a better player if she lost a few kilos? Most likely, yes. Since you are a professional athlete, you owe it to your partner to be in the best shape that you can be (within reason). Of course, we don't know the real situation. Maybe she did lose 10kg before the Olympics but didn't have enough time to get down to her ideal playing weight?
She has always been a bigger girl and you know "the camera adds 10 pounds" . I could say she looks a little bigger than normally but maybe they gave her tighter shirts . Here is a good read for all regarding their Olympic participation and partnership http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2008/08/07/big-year-pays-off-with-beijing-berth Perhaps read this one first: checking tournament software there is a 5 month period with no XD participation from December 2007 to April 2008; this might explain the gap (lost funding) http://www.badminton-information.com/canadas_beres_looks_forward_to_third_olympics.html BUT the another/additional reason was presented here http://www.courrierlaval.com/Sports...oute-vers-les-Olympiques-pour-Valerie-Loker/1 [I also see towbsss partnered her after the Olympics ...] In any case the only travesty in this match is:
She has played World Champs, Olympics, several Superseries events... So more than you and me will ever achieve. Maybe, despite the fact that she is somewhat overweight, she might have more talent than you? And skills needed for a male singles player are of course somewhat different from ladies MX... Criticizing others is easy, performing better is much harder...
Knew nothing about these two players until watching the video. I don't think that Mike Beres was really better skillwise compared to the lady. His hitting movement looked very restrictive, more like an amateur player than a professional. His choice of shot wasn't great either. Many expect to see the very best showing up in the olympics, but reality is that there's a strict quota on nationality. They were the best in Canada at the time, so they were there.
^ An 8-times national champion and 3-times Gold medallist from Pan-Am Games has restrictive hitting movement resembling amateur player?? Now I've heard everything.
I did not know his titles, but nevertheless they would not have changed my opinion even if I had known them before. I wrote what I thought after watching the video.
Times have changed since then. Now with greater influx of Chinese in Canada over the past 10-15 yrs, more awareness of badminton as a sport and simply because badminton is so popular in Asian countries, there's more pro players from the Chinese community representing Canada. In other words, this pair may have been the best in Canada back then, but they would face very stiff local competition if they played now.
OK, I do not agree with that. I thought he wasn't bad, maybe just under par with the man on the other side of the net. He beat Kevin Cordon for his singles gold medal and Mike is not a singles player, and Kevin, pretty good But I think he has retired as well. My point was he could have done better with a partner that wasn't 40kgs over weight.
What makes you think there were light players at that time that had her skill sets? I know some badminton players who are very over weight but their skill level is so high - even without being able to move very much they control the match Just because a person is overweight doesn't mean he/she cannot be the best in their field - even at Badminton!
Val is teaching in GTA now, hope she would never read TheComedian's comment. Put everything aside, she probably was the best Canada had to offered at that moment. There is nothing wrong being big and the best at the same time.
I guess so, but even the commentator was trying not to mention her weight. You could tell she wanted to, but didn't. But she made a reference to it, saying that she wasn't hunting the shuttle. how could she hunt the shuttle? she couldn't even anticipate the shuttle. She was stuck in the mid-front court, watching the shuttle wiz by her, or fall in the trem lines. The Thai's took HUGE advantage of her weight (and lack of skill and technique by the way) making her twist and turn, making her use all of energy to lunge herself to the left to retreive the shuttle and then the Thai's would just guide the shuttle to right for the outright winner. It almost makes me angry watching this match. Mike running around like a maniac to pick up his partners slack. Val stuck in the middle just watching the shuttle. Mike had to cover the four corners like a singles player! diving from side to side just trying to add one more point to the score board. He would have done better without her on court in my opinion. she was almost a weakness to him. Maybe she was the best in Canada at the time, maybe she wasn't and Mike played with her because they were both from the same city. You know, Anna Rice also played in those olympics. I think she would have been a much better partner. I know shes a sinlges player, but I think she was a better choice. By the way, most players that are big, are big because becuase they WORK OUT and it's muscle on top of muscle. with Val, it's just unecceptable from an olympian in the sport of badminton (in my opinion). Like that Malaysian doubles team. One is HUGE, but its not fat. That is muscle on muscle. And his partner is built like a singles player. Same with Lee Yong Dae's retired partner. Big dude, not fat. Val, is a fat around her waist. Those guys are BIG in their upper body, lower body, and have a big 8 pack under SOME fat. You look at Val when she serves, it looks like theres a basketball under her shirt. I know people who just sit around a play video games all day who look in better shape.
I certainly don't know as much as you do about Badminton, but last time I checked the requirement for Olympic qualification - I don't believe they had player physique or body fat measurements as one of the criteria. You sound like fit and buffed guy - have you made the Canadian Olympic team with all those muscles?
