Could someone point out to me when each of the classic and famous racquets were popular with the pro players ? Use time periods if possible, like '86-'92 etc. I'm specifically wondering about the Cab 8, Cab 20, Iso (Tour?) 800, Slim 10, different Aerogears/Airblades. All others would be interesting too.
Wong Peng Soon in the 50's (not sure of the date) used Silver Grey. Many top players in the sixties and seventies either used Silver Grey or Dunlop; only two brands that were decent. In the seventies and eighties, Carlton was also probably used -- no idea who. Rudy Hartono used Gossen strings and had an endorsement contract with Gossen. Liem Swee King used the original Carb 8. That is all I can report. Ron
Not sure if Hartono started endorsing Gosen only after he had stopped playing and only then with his picture on the string wrappers? He was a Yonex player for years. Don't know if anyone out there remember playing/seeing Gosen racquets all those years ago. Swee King played with Carlton before Cab 8. Frost played with Yonex before Boron Classic.
Ok, we could propably start somewhere in the mid eighties at least ... My main interest is to know during what periods racquets such as Cab 8, Cab 20-23, Iso 800 etc. were top choices for the pros. Ps. Why is it called Cab ? Isn't it short for Carbonex. Carb ??
Cab8 - latest I can recall somebody using it was the last stages of the Sidek brothers. Somewhere around 1991. It was in the dx form. cab 9 - all the way from 1985 to 1999. Cab20 original - all the way from 1985 to present day! Interesting, it was the first one piece graphite racquet. One piece racquets already existed but in wooden form. Cab21 - Park Joo Bong. Before the cab 21he used cab9. Heard he also used Boron 200 aftewards (but that is hearsay) cab22 - only seen two well known internationals used this. Cheah Soon Kit and Tony Gunawan. This was around 1998 to 2000. cab23 - nobody uses this to my knowledge. Iso 800 - 1996 onwards. Still popular. slim10 - who else used it apart from Gade and Sogaard? Aerotus110 - Hoyer Larsen and Thomas Lund (I think). so perhaps 1992 onwards. And there is Ti 10 - still quite a favourite these last few years.
Judging from old photos etc I'd say that the Cab 8 and Cab 9 were THE racquets at that time. Here's an old thread about the Cab 8/9: http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3224
cab22 - didnt' Yoo Yong Soong used it at one point? cab9 - Yap Kim Hock and Cheah Soon Kit was still using it up to and around 1996. i have some 1996 WGPF tapes with them holding it.
Yonex catalog had shown MAL Yap Kim Hock uses slim 10. Boron-2 Sun jun. Cab 9 - ricky and rexy, cheah soo kit too before he switched to cab22 iso900/Ti SP SR - gong zhichao
sugiarto was using a k1, the kawa equivalent of cab 20 with a built in t-joint. he was using a yonex before that
Cab 3 in 1978-1980. Very fine racquet,used by Rudy Hartono when he won World Champs in 1980 in Jakarta.
The Cab7 was a nice racket. I went from a Carlton 3.7X to the Cab 7 and liked it. Unfortunately, the frame finally cracked at the t-joint to the aluminium head and I threw it away. I had moved away from wood rackets by that time and did not want the Cab 3 which was a wood version of the Cab 7 with a graphite shaft on a wood frame instead of a graphite shaft on an aluminium frame. Ron
reply to ronk >>Rudy Hartono used Gossen strings and had an endorsement contract with Gossen. Here is the pic that proves it http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/jengsen/...sen/lst?&.dir=/My+Photo+Album&.src=ph&.view=t
The Gossen strings of the 80's were packed with a sticker with Rudy Hartono's picture. I bought several packets of cheap Gossen strings (Hy Sheep) and when I strung my rackets (with a borrowed stringing machine), I stuck the stickers outside my Carb 8 head covers. Rudy looked healthy and fit then, but I read in another thread in this forum that Rudy currently has health problems. Ron
i did the same thing, i have that racket for a long long time. It is sad to hear that Rudy is not in good health. He is the first world model in badminton that i have ever dream to be. In Atlanta, 1996 Olympic games. i got the tickets to watch couple games. i saw Rudy with all gray hair sitting in couching Indonesia Team (i believe that was him); but then, but time flies.
Just go to this web side, you will know how good Rudy was. http://sportsfacts.net/history/badminton/all_england_championship/all_england_mens_singles.html
Rudy was one of the greatest players in badminton, and there was a time when he was basically undefeatable, winning in every tournament he participated. He has the All-England record for most consecutive wins. He was a good all round player with phenomenal mental strength. The only challenge he did not face was the top Chinese players of that era because China did not compete in international matches. He defeated top Danish, Indonesian, and Malaysian players consistently. I did see him play in the Thomas cup final between Malaysia and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur (he won his matches against Punch Gunalan and Abdul Rahman) and I even got his autograph in the program, but I believe that my sister threw away the program . Ron
