Badminton players' idols

[chris-ccc]

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Badminton players' idols

We, BCers, have our idols. Even our better World players have their own idols.

Just 2 days ago, Jan O Jorgensen won the 2010 Denmark Open SS. He defeated Taufik Hidayat at the Mens Singles Final there.

I was replying to a post, namely;

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Yes, congratulations to JOJ for winning the the 2010 Denmark Open SS.

JOJ was absolutely elated because he has now found himself to be as good as his idol, Taufik Hidayat. If I can remember correctly, this is the second time JOJ has defeated TH.

JOJ once said that Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat are his idols.

Now, we can say that JOJ has arrived at TH's (and PG's) high level/standard of play.
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From our BCers' knowledge of many top professional players and their profiles, perhaps we can start a thread informing us who are who's top Badminton players' idols.

It could be interesting to know; because our top players tend to follow/copy how their idols have played/performed in the past; even in behaviour and in temperament.
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[nokh88]

I think YY would have been many player's idol for the current crop. Wonder if Misbun is LCW's.

[xavYPC]

copy paste from lcw interview before 2008 olympic :

12. Which player you admire at the start, both at the local and the international scene?

I think it would be Sun Jun. When I started picking up this sport, he was then the world champion. I really admire the way he play his game as he has quick reflexes and lightning speed on court though he is just small in size.

[chris-ccc]

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And guess who was one of Taufik Hidayat's idols?

It's Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen of Denmark.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/interv...idayat_1460060
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[cobalt]

I believe Joko Suprianto was Taufik's idol as well ...

[chris-ccc]

I believe Joko Suprianto was Taufik's idol as well ...

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You are correct; as it was quoted by TH in this interview;
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/interv...idayat_1460060
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[volcom]

Good revealing interview....
another OG for taufik?

[cobalt]

Very interested to find out if Sun Jun had an idol... ??

[chris-ccc]

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There was a Prakash Padukone's interview, after he became the first Indian Badminton player ever to win the prestigious All England Badminton Championship.

====== ====== ====== part of the article ====== ====== ======

The victory at All England Badminton Championship earned Prakash a World No. 1 ranking, something that he’s been the only Indian to achieve till date. He had now entered the league of the best badminton players in the world of his time, and in the Swedish Open tournament of 1980, he even got to clash against his idol, Rudy Hartono in an early round of the tournament. Prakash beat Rudy by 9-15, 15-12 and 15-1, and even though he could easily win by 15-0 in the last set, he didn’t want to embarrass his idol.

====== ====== ====== end of the article ====== ====== ======

Source: http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/bad...-padukone.html
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[Bbn]

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There was a Prakash Padukone's interview, after he became the first Indian Badminton player ever to win the prestigious All England Badminton Championship.

====== ====== ====== part of the article ====== ====== ======

The victory at All England Badminton Championship earned Prakash a World No. 1 ranking, something that he’s been the only Indian to achieve till date. He had now entered the league of the best badminton players in the world of his time, and in the Swedish Open tournament of 1980, he even got to clash against his idol, Rudy Hartono in an early round of the tournament. Prakash beat Rudy by 9-15, 15-12 and 15-1, and even though he could easily win by 15-0 in the last set, he didn’t want to embarrass his idol.

====== ====== ====== end of the article ====== ====== ======

Source: http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/bad...-padukone.html
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Just to put prakash's words in proper perspective.

In Badminton magazine the coverage of the Swedish Open mentions this : In the 2nd set Prakash engaged Rudy in a long rally

that sapped Rudy's stamina so much so that he became a passenger in the final set. By 1980 anyone playing Rudy knew you just have to drag him over 3 sets because he will become a passenger in the final set. this strategy is still employed to this day and people like Gade are the favourite victims.

Prakash re-introduced the element of deceptive strokes made popular by Rudy as against the fashionable smash and grab tactics of that era eg.Liem Swie King & Frost. In other words Prakash could have flattened Rudy not because of skill, rather Rudy was a pale shadow of his former self at 31 years and in a game of young guile vs old guile, the result can be predicted.

[chris-ccc]

Prakash re-introduced the element of deceptive strokes made popular by Rudy as against the fashionable smash and grab tactics of that era eg. Liem Swie King & Frost. In other words Prakash could have flattened Rudy not because of skill, rather Rudy was a pale shadow of his former self at 31 years and in a game of young guile vs old guile, the result can be predicted.

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That's correct. Prakash was playing strokes with great control and deception just like Rudy, and not like Liem Swie King's speed and power.

It is that more often than not, players who have idols usually follow how their idols play.
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[Bbn]

I wouldn't be surprised if Misbun himself admits how much Prakash actually influenced his playing style after 1980.

Prior to that Misbun was a really fast and hard smasher as opposed to his predecessor stroke makers like those in the 70s,

but after Prakash's success his game became more deceptive and calculative.He used to be in a hurry to finish off his game,

in fact many players in his era were taught the smash and grab style and to finish off opponents in double quick time.

[Bbn]

There's a limit to deception though, opponents may initially be fooled but after a while they learn to play a waiting game.

That's why although Prakash was the player of the year in 1980,and beat Frost consistently, after he moved to Denmark to train with Frost,

he never beat Frost again. The first time Han Jian played Prakash in 1981 in Stadium Negara, Han Jian was so confused he got 15-0 in the first set,

but he wised up in the second and lost 18-16 in the 2nd. After that their contests were quite even.

Its interesting this thing about deception, quite useful once in a while but not very efffective after some time or overdone.

Hafiz Hashim definitely is a player who thinks highly of this aspect. LCW initially favoured this approach.

I think it is a key aspect of Indian Badminton players brought up in the mould of Prakash and Pullela Gopichand.

These are the 2 people who single-handedly brought up this game in India.

[cobalt]

Kenichi Tago's idol is TH. No surprise there!

[Ajaib]

Gong Zhichao idol is Tang Jiuhong

[jazzroll]

tan boon heong idol is cheah soon kit..no doubt!!

[cobalt]

Saina Nehwal's idol is.................................... Taufik Hidayat!

Here's a nice interview she gave last year in Mumbai.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/apr...n-facility.htm