here is what i have observed about men's doubles players from various countries.. China : hardworkers, always try their best but not as calm as some other players. tend to rush shots. not as creative as players from other countries. Malaysia : very talented players but has a more laid back and lazy attitude. sometimes underlook their opponent and not always play their best. have problem focusing on their game. Indonesia : ultra talented players with some amazing skills. very creative and all around players. can do anything you ask them to. however, sometimes loses focus and can lack consistency Korea : another group of very talented and skillful players, not as creative as Indonesians but like to play ultra fast games but with the speed to go with it. Denmark : as opposed to the Malaysians, the Danish players are the most hardworking and focused players. they always play 105% regardless of how their opponent plays. they play at the same pace with the same focus from the beginning to the end of the match. latest generation is much more skillful and all around.
I agree with these stereotypes, though they are only stereotypes of course! It would be interesting to see how badminton is taught to youngsters in the different countries to understand how and why they develop these different styles of play... Maybe some of you have answers?
I remember the times when the 'old guards' ruled world badminton and some really fits into those stereotypes snugly, while others don't. China Li Yongbo/Tian Bingyi They're quite balanced, as far as I can remember and plays at a slower pace than the players nowadays do. Anything to do with emphasis of 'soft' or 'skills over power' in the training of yesteryears? Malaysia Razif/Jalani Sidek Ultra-defensive, the wall of China (?). Something like Foo Kok Keong but times two. They seem to be less lazy than the doubles nowadays, I think. Depends a lot on defensive power to frustrate opponents and launch the counter attack when the opening presents itself. Indonesia Eddy Hartono/Rudy Gunawan Fits kwun's description well. Highly talented, really good players but focus could just be lost. I remember one part in Thomas Cup 92' that both dived for the shuttle? Perhaps the older guys can help me on this? Korea Park Joo Bong/Kim Moon Soo Power-packed players who plays with high agression and speed, and have very very accurate strokes. Seldom make mistakes and are hard to overcome unless the opponents know where to grab the advantage, which are quite hard to find. Very consistent, almost clock work. I remember someone on BF saying that this pair revolutionized aggressive doubles. Denmark Sorry, don't know any. I only knew Morten Frost... And all that was in the 80s. A great difference two decades had done.
Sang Yang and Zheng Bo, especially the latter, were pretty loud at the 2003 World Championships quarters against Chan and Chew.
yeah. agreed. certainly very interesting to see players from each country have their own character. about the Danish, i am most impressed by their "give it all" attitude. Jonas also mentioned that in one of this post that he plays at his full ability all the time. quite apparent is the recent China Open final between JR/LP and Choong/Lee. Choong was screwing around at the beginning of the match and then i think JR/LP played their best, took advantage of it, and then scored 5 consecutive points as a result. and then through out the whole match, JR/LP never lost any concentration, even after falling on the ground, JR still had his racket up! and i think that's is exactly the correct attitude all pros should have. give them all you have all the time. go JR!
hm... interesting about Malaysia. that reminds me of Cheah/Yap and to me they don't fit into the stereotype mentioned. both are hardworkers and Yap especially. but personal characters comes in and Cheah seems to be hot tempered and Yap being more mellow always gets the worst out of the situation. but he carries on and play and doesn't seem to get affected. defense: yes, i think Malaysians have the greatest defense. not sure about the latest batch of players, but Cheah/Yap can return all the crazy smashes from Ricky/Rexy with ease.
I can quite remember Ricky and Rexy being quite the type that is more consistent than their predecessors and successors, and if I did not remember wrongly I remember them ruling world badminton for some time, is it? As far as I can remember they seldom lose focus and are at times quite ruthless. The othe thing I remember best is perhaps their prototyping of 'flamboyant badminton' ala Sigit. And as we can see, JR and Lars are workhorse who won't give up before the shuttle hits the latex and that's truly the attitude of champions. Something like the work culture of east asia, where work ethics is as sacred as religion itself. I think the easiest of all stereotypes to make should be the Koreans - they are always the same consistent, quick, agressive and accurate players down the years.
- my view: Razif/Jalani is atypical , they were very disciplined and commited players.Surprise!So was Rasid Sidek, another surprise! Li Yong Bo and Tian Bing Yi were outstanding because of li's immense talent, he was some ways as good as Park Joo Bong. Park and Jalani always emphasise that to beat Li and Tian you just need to mock Li and annoy him so that his ego and bad temper will ensure that he loses focus.
From my point of view, Ricky/Rexy is the best Indonesian doubles, since Christian/Ade Chandera and Tjun Tjun/Johan Wahyudi. Their consistentie is the key of thier succes. Just one thing could make them loose : the bad temper of Rexy. I remember when they faced Razif/Jailani. They won in the first set. In the second set, the Malaysian choosed more defence, so the smashes from Rexy, also back. At that moment, Rexy was so angry because his smash didn't succes then he losted his style of play, as the result : The Malaysian took the second set. AT the beginning of the third set, I saw Ricky talked with Rexy and try to make his mate calm. And the Indonesian back to thier style and consistentie, their variant of attaching was very good. Their took the third set. Ricky/Rexy is the prototype of Chandera/Sigit. Chandera is calm and Sigit could explote if 'necessary'. Ricky ==> Chandera, Rexy ==> Sigit. Chandera/Sigit is actually the successors of Ricky/Rexy. Now is the time for Aven/Luluk to show their talent that their can take over the torch from Chandera/Sigit.
Quite an interesting viewpoint and I could see the wisdom in such a pairing - one who is a conventional calm and measured character, while the other a rebel but of great flair and creativity. One helps to keep the game structured and proper, while the other given the licence to be creative and thrill. Alven and Luluk have big shoes to fill. I have to admit that I find Indonesian doubles to be most intriguing because of the creativity bit. I just love to see a showman or two on the courts. Sometimes, the ruthless agression of the new generation Chinese or the clockwork precision of the Koreans can be a tad boring.
i think this is the same case for almost all of the successful pairs in men's doubles. examples: candra/sigit, kim/ha as said b4, in a good pair, there is a 'genius' who makes all the unsuspected and guile shots, whereas his partner is someone who can always smash hard and almost never make mistakes. The Dependables candra: honestly, this guy almost never makes a mistake. i c him making about 1-2 mistakes throughout a whole match. he smashes hard as well. ha: This guy never makes a mistake either. ppl smash to him in the front, and he returns most of them. And his smashes: enough said . however, both candra and ha never makes those 'tricky' or 'deceptive' shots, their consistancy is their big weapon. imo, the above two are the most non-mistaking, defensive players in the tour as of right now. The Brains sigit: this guy's shot selections are super- guile... sometimes even erratic.. this guy makes much more mistakes than his partner, candra. kim: this guy is a special case, as he is both the brain, and the consistent, hard working type. his shots are very penetrating due to his fast thinking and creativeness. Also, on the other side, he also smashes consistently, and has a super good defence (almost as good as his partner) who knows, maybe that's why they are such a good pair. However, the thing i saw in these 'geniuses' are that they make more unforced errors than forced errors(?)confused. cockiness? i dun know. they can block any smashes when the opponents are presurrizing them with their smashes from the forecourt, whereas they sometimes make simple mistakes while doing a net shot or a quite 'open' smash. newayz.. this might be a lil off topic...
