My definition of a professional badminton player is one who makes a living by playing full time in inter-club tournaments. Just my curiousity, is there such a thing called "professional" badminton player who plays for a good living ? I mean professional athletics like other sports, such as basketball, soccer, american football...etc where the player signs contract and get paid by a club to play and make a living out of it. I know there isn't such a thing in US, but just curious about other countries, like Indo, Malaysia, China, Denmark...etc
Yes, there are many players who make a living from badminton. The prize money is more important for Asians relatively to the cost of everyday life, so I suppose it is much more common to turn professional in Asia than in Europe...
I suppose one of the main reasons there are more badminton professionals from Asia is that the general wage level of the Asian worker is relatively low and there is not much difference playing sports and working in other areas. I do not mean Asians who are highly qualified eg. degree holders and with professional experience, but those who probably took up sports when they were in their early teens and did not go for tertiary education but concentrated on thier chosen sport, instead. This would be true particularly of China, although the economic scene is changing and wages have improved, they still fall far short of those in developed countries in the West and some of the more affluent countries in the East, like Japan. Chinese shuttlers and coaches look foward to overseas assignments as they can then earn much more than what they are paid at home, including a more favourable exchange rate between the foreign currency and the Yuan. Although continued efforts have been made by the world badminton authorities to raise the profile of the badminton game, this has not quite reach the popularity of other much televised sports like soccer, tennis, car racing, golf, etc, sports which are more popular with the West. Such popularity will attract big sponsors and commercial houses, which in turn will ensure that that particular game will not only survive but prosper. Prize monies will increase, commercial endorsements and sponsorships between the sports stars and the commercial houses will proliferate, so long as company revenues can continue to increase as a direct result of such activities. Stars like Peter Gade, who lives in a developed economy like Denmark, would be able to enjoy such benefits, especially when the badminton game is popular there. Foreign professionals are also engaged there to play for the clubs in their professional leagues. But it is nothing quite like soccer in Europe, where professional players earn quite ridiculous wages and many stars are millionaires within a relatively short time! Similarly with golf and to take Tiger Woods as an example, he is a multi-millionaire still in his twenties! So badminton professionals still have a long, long way to catch up. It is no wonder that nobody wants to become a professional badminton player in the US. You probably can't earn enough even to survive! But once a while, during the Olympics, professional players who can win the gold medal, will be handsomely rewarded by their governments and well wishers. In Singapore, a gold will fetch S$1 million, a silver, S$500,000 and a bronze, $250,000 but professionals will have to wait every 4 years. They will also get cash rewards for other major tournaments like the Asian Games, the SEA Games, the Commonwealth Games and IBF events. Meanwhile, most of the adult professionals here will take home around S$2,000 per month, depending on how good they are. Some more, others less. However, many prefer to opt for academic qualifications rather than to become badminton professionals. Of course, the reverse is true for some golf professionals, many of whom are graduates. The carrot is the huge amount of prize money awaiting to be won and the commercial endorsements and advertising income available if you are a champion! But if you are a really good badminton player and is not academically inclined, then it may be a good option to turn professional. First, you can only be a sports champ when you are still young and strong. Second, you can continue to study even in old age. Also, when a sportsperson retires, he can become a coach or take up other sports-related appointments. In Singapore now, the Sports School takes care of both sports and studies and even makes arrangements for the student to become sports professionals in other fields like sports medicine, sports management, etc.
Agree with Loh, I would have said the same thing (more or less) if I hadn't been too lazy to write a such long text!
So, which countries have inter-club or badminton league tournaments ? Looks Denmark has, where else ? Do they broadcast the matches, just like the english soccer ?
France has national interclubs, it is the only national competition in the country (no individual one!!!), it is not officially professional though... In the facts, big clubs hire very good foreign players against good amounts of money, the foreign players include Tracey Hallam, Richard Vaughan, Arif Rasidi, Hanny Setiani, many international Bulgarians, Ukrainians etc... Even in third division where I'll be playing this year, some clubs have foreign international players! About other european countries, I know Germany and Switzerland also have important interclubs...
how well does the French interclubs pay the Foreign players (say div1)? compared to the cost of living in France? are they better of than the general minimum wage worker in France? or do they just make ends meet? how about local players? are they paid about the same for their own ability/worth? and when is the interclub seasons? thanx for all reply. sorry for the load of questions
As I said, the players aren't officially professional players. There are various situations : * some are hired as club coach, and play for the club at the same time * most of the others are paid via bonuses (not an actual salary) : they train elsewhere and just come to represent the club 5 week-ends a year and get bonuses for this. (it is the case of players like Tracey Hallam who trains in England and only comes for the interclub matches) * some can be sparring partners at the french national centre, and find a club in France to get more money... (Arif Rasidi for ex) I don't know about the actual value of the bonuses (this is kept quite secret by the big clubs) but it is enough to attract many international players from neighboorhood (UK, Belgium...) and Eastern Europe where cost of living is much lower (so bonuses are much bigger in comparison), but the bonuses are still not high enough to compete with danish clubs, that's why Pi Hongyan still plays for the danish club of Greve (european champion) Sorry, I don't know many more details as my club is a small club and has no possibility of giving bonuses to any player (100% local amateur players )
Also : some big clubs pay the rent of a flat for all there first team members (that's one big cost of living that disappears ) Top french players usually get higher bonuses than the foreigners for similar level, but most of them still need to study to get a job or become coach, because they are crap internationally anyway so the bonuses are just about the only money they can earn! (not enough for a living) To your last question : the interclub season starts in october and there is one week-end per month until february (5 week-ends) than play-offs with the four best clubs in may...
Thanx. but where do these clubs get the money to pay for the players? >private sponsorship? >Corporate Sponsorship/Funding? >Gate collection? >Prize Money?
Interesting, I never heard of those names you mentioned (maybe I was not long enough in this sports). Definitely, the names are not in any of the major tournaments (Thomas Cup, Olympics...etc). If these players are semi-professional but not able to make it to major tournaments, I cannot imagine how good Lin Dan, Taufik, Kim Dong-Moon...etc is.
I don't know exactly. I would say mainly public funding and private sponsorship (no gate collection nor prize money, badminton isn't popular enough in France) never heard about them??? Tracey Hallam was *only* quarter-finalist at the Olympic Games, not enough I suppose... Richard Vaughan is brittish number one (Welsh) and former world top 10 player before his injury. He beated Xia Xuanze at the All England if I remember rightly and lost in last 16 round at the Olympics... The two others (Indonesians) are less famous on the world scene but they both thrash all of the best french players : Arif Rasidi (french team sparring-partner) is a former bronze medallist of World Junior Championships... he would probably be around 30-40th in the world if he played regularly in IBF events. Hanny Setiani was semi-finalist at the French Open and Toulouse Open, and would probably be at minimum around the 30th rank in the world if she played regularly in IBF events too... Overall there are many other international players who are the best in their respective countries though they are not "world class" players. (most world class players play in Denmark, not in France)
in terms of international tournaments badminton may suffer the same syndrome as F1 in which only players that succeed in obtaining financial backing and sponsorship may frequent international tournaments. an example i would give is Sergio Llopis from Spain. he's IMHO ranked alot higher than what he would actually be based on ability/performance. but some how you can see him in tournaments in all the 4 corners of the world. he is a very lucky man!
The ranking system is made to encourage players to participate in the most tournaments possible (so much the better for the fans). Obviously all countries don't have the same funds so players don't have equal chances but there isn't much that can be done about this unfortunately... (it is more a matter of economy than of sports)
