I was just wondering what in general is the peak age for badminton[i am referring to age as in terms of phyiscal ability natural power and endurance].After Taufik won the olympic gold medal in athens his coach mentioned that even for the next edition in 2007 he will still be a contender but age might become a factor[he will be 27 yrs old then].So if u want to be a Pro and win Laurels for your country do u have to do it in your early 20's and then carry own. What i mean is i know Badminton is physically very...what shall i say too much [at the pro level of course].But is there that much of a difference BTW playing at 25 and playing at 27.Of course there are examples of players like Gade and in fact there are a lot of players around the 28 year mark still competitevely playing yet most would agree that they are not 100% fit.Gopi won his first grand prix title in 2001-the AE of course and he was i think 27 then and now[with all respect to his injuries and the time taken for him to recover] at 31 his coach says he is not even half as fit and even he's agreed that he was a different player back then.all this in just 4 yrs. Is Badminton at the highest level that Physically draining,thatsay if i were a pro, when i become say 25 my game[fitness and reach] wont be the same when i am 27. So the question in the end is what is the peak age for badminton in general?[when your body is at it's best]
You are always at your best when you're younger (but not too young, this comment only goes towards intermediate to professionals). In my opinion, since badminton is a very physically and mentally draining sport especially for pros, as you get older, you are all drained out. So 2 years is a big difference with all the tournaments and training.
Do you think professional players like current #1 MD and #5 XD Jens Eriksen, who was born in 1969 and is currently 35 years old, are exceptions? Or is it possible that advances in sports science and sports medicine have enabled athletes to prolong their careers? Or is it because he plays doubles and not singles? Comments pls.
Your peak age depends on the amount of training you do from early on. Chinese players generally peak ( and then burn out ) fairly young as they start full time training much younger than european players. This being due to the education systems being different. Obviously there are many factors such as staying injury free which affect things as well. Singles is probably more physically demanding so I'd imagine that singles players careers are shorter on average.
peak age depend on who is your opposition. I heard a guy 90 some year old and still plays (before he past away) http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22944&highlight=kelowna
The game of badminton is evolving all the time. If you take the average age of top level players over the years, it is declining. Wong Peng Soon, Singapore's Sportsman of the Century, was still the undisputed champion when he was in his forties. That would be a joke today. The reason is that the raw badminton material, namely new players who take up the game seriously, is growing almost exponentially. The competition is greater, the game is more demanding, more varied, more powerful and accurate (extremely high string tension from better racquets), and so much faster. Today's top players are being paid whereas champions of old had to pay for their own travel expenses, meals and sometimes suffered the indignity of losing their job. The financial rewards will not get smaller for today's top players-what Taufit and Alan Kusuma received for winning the Olympic Gold would be enough to finance more than a thousand Wong Peng Soons in the 1950s. The trend towards professionalism, and that means money, will produce greater competition. Greater competition will mean tired bodies of older players will be no match for younger players. But badminton is also a game of brains. However, the key is that the brains advantage must be greater than the disadvantage of power and speed. As time goes on, brains is just not enough, especially in singles.
By peak age i meant the age best for Your physical ability,natural power and endurance and not the max age until u can play. I am guessing it's 24 or 25.
Maybe coz he plays doubles but still at that age u have to give him respect. But yes he is an exception.i cant imagine how many pros would play at 35.
Peak age... ???? This is a very general question. Peak age can vary widely depending on one's physical growth, mental growth (competitive badminton is also a mental game), and the amount of training (fitness & skills) one puts in. Looking at Pros, peak age for single players would be around 18-24, though some players go further than this (for example, Zhang Ning wins title at the age of 30). For double players, the peak age could be older, around 22-28. What I guess is there would difference in peak age between men & women. And I also guess women's peak age could be longer than men...???
I have seen live matches of top badminton players from the 1950s from Indonesia's Tan Joe Hock through to Rudy Hartono (then known as Rudy Neo)to today's Lin Dan, Gade, Taufit & company. In my opinion, good as the champions of old were, they would be no match for today's players. The modern game is different. However, if the old champions were trained and have played in today's environment, then it is a different story. The modern game has evolved through competition. Competition begets better players. In a way it is no different from business-you stay competitive or you disappear. Even right now, coaches of each country are planning, plotting, watching videos of likey opponents, hammering out strategies for different situations/opponents, for the upcoming World Championships. Some countries have group, individual, prime, secondary and what have you coaches. They even have specialists in conditioning, building super stamina, motivators, spin doctors, and experts who massage your body and your ego. Some officials are very good in persuading sponsors, corporate and private, to reward any player that brings home a trophy with a bungalow palace and acres of land. All these do produce better players, more new players, more kids to take up badminton and more grade one players.
I think professional players will be relatively older and still playing professionally before they retire. They are able to prolong their playing careers partly because of the help of medical science and new discoveries and inventions in the badminton arena. Better monetary incentives and the opening up of the game internationally will also contribute to this phenomenon. Only the countries they represent will limit the professional player's options. With so many up-and-coming young players competing for a place, older pros will have to give way. But, as in the case of Zhang Ning, if no young player can really beat you, you can still remain in the national team. Remember, the Olympics have been won by players consdered 'too' old for their sport, including badminton. However, because of the internationalization of badminton in years to come, skilful older players, like the discarded ex-Chinese national and provincial players now representing other countries, may find themselves useful again by leaving home and playing in other countries. The club leaque system, which appears to popular in Europe, may find acceptance in the other continents and countries as well. There could even be a World Badminton Leaque. One should not discount this possibility and the great imagination and creativity of the human mind! So the old guards still have a place! Meanwhile the IBF and related organizations should get their act together to popularize and market the game worldwide and gain the confidence of the big sponsors and media agencies. Money makes the world go round!
i think asian ppl r little different vs euro physically.....seems like for asian....once they r reaching 28...specially single player.....hardly 4 them last 2 the final mins.....but for euro ..ppl still can play..even after 30....former Olympic gold paul...won the gold..don't remember if he is 32 or 35...
And ironically the club league system is not very popular in Asia which has most of the major Badminton nations today.in Europe if the plyers do become older atleast they can play for their clubs but in Asia especially China they know good players will be replaced so they hardly worry and maybe that's why Asians are forced to retire early as compared to Europeans due fitness worries. but the question still is when do Asians and europeans peak[could be a different age as someone just mentioned].the best answers for this would come from the players themselves. Have Any BF'ers[competitive players] seen a significant decline in your fitness in 2yrs time or felt that u peaked at a particular age.
oldest current players I'm curious now: who are the oldest players currently ranked in the top 100 of each event?
Peak age depends on 1. Playing style (the faster the earlier) 2. Genetics (some ppl just dont age) 3. Incentives (willing to grind it out for cash?) 4. Mind Set (how you deal with pain and getting old) 5. Training style (Chinese peak earlier b/c they start training at young age)
