I was at a badminton court the other day (for malaysians, its in Serdang, under MPPJ, Selangor) and saw 2 malaysian womens doubles players (or at least ex-players, dont know their names) they played against 2 MEN (casual players), tall (both 180 +), good badminton skills (good serve, great smashes, good teamwork,good backhand) and they won 15-2.... thats the difference betweeen casual players and national players....
IMHO, the main difference between (ex-)nationals and the rest of us is that they simply make much less unforced errors that we do. Even when they play very simple badminton at a slow (i.e., our) pace, they simply don't hit out or into the net. In the end, we almost always do them a favour and end rallies with unforced errors. At least, that's my experience. Other observations?
You mean the Ex-Team Malay Women won 15-2, yes? If so, I'm not surprised at all. There's no comparison between National Players and Club Players.
Agree, you're not going to out hustle, out think, out clear/drop or out consistent National Players. The only way to win, if possible at all, is to beat them with winning shots, weather it be a smash, drive or drop.
i once played with one of the current malaysia national women doubles player, i forget her name adi, she once quit BAM. one thing i notice is that their drop shot is so damn sharp, she can drop in between the net and the servis line 10 out of 10 times, with such speed and accuracy. even my friend a state player cant return it perfectly.
yeah, its true they hardly make ANY mistakes but overall, their smashes are also very very sharp and fast their net play superb etc
Ah yes, the beginning of the vicious circle. The drive to come up with the winner is the source of most errors. The other thing I see is that their experience means that they always know what you are going to try before you do. So you can't surprise them. When you don't surprise them, this in turn gives them more time to prepare for and choose their shots, giving you, in turn, less time, and on it goes. This is why we, as experienced club players, can do much the same thing to beginners as what national team players do to us. In other words, it doesn't just depend on the quality of shots. Also, the number and variety of shots they've mastered is greater as is their ability to make the setup for several different shots look the same. I have a good backhand clear and a good backhand drop but they still look very different so a good player can identify and anticipate.
Practice makes perfect. Imagine doing the same shots over and over again for an hr or so.. thats why they are so good at it.
That's life. I have to go for the winner because if I sit back and play their game I will not only lose, I will be drained more physically. The bottom line is they are already better than me. That is fact. I cannot play their game. I have to try to make things happen. The worst that can happen is I lose whereas I was going to lose in the first place and expend more energy.