Hi, This post is based on one person in particular that i have noticed, Muhammed Roslin Hashim of Malaysia. He has, to me (i aint no singles expert), a very funny way of playing men's singles. Against the power hitters, it seems that Roslin loves to be on the defense all the time. He seems to be on the defensive all the time until players make mistakes, then he punishes them. Although he gets powerul smashes across his body to the backhand side, he defendes them with such accuracy (or fluke) that it simply winds up the power hitters (eg Chen). He only has a little smashing side to him, i dont think it's that powerful? (someone correct me if i'm wrong), but it is very effective. I have yet to come across one of these players in my area. Anyone have one of these players that just keep on running? Matt
Matt Roslin is somewhat a runner but thats not his only strength. He has great deception, superb net play and although he does not jump smash in the powerful way chen does, Roslin often takes the shuttle early and hits accurate winners. Also when assessing the final of the AE, like any of the major events you have to take account of the matches leading up to the final. Chen spent hours more on court than Roslin , which may account to some of Chen's errors and inability to rally well. Of course despatching early opponents with minimum effort is all part of being a champion. There have been many sucessful "runners" in mens singles,but I think the term does not really do Roslin justice. Mens singles is always a balance between consistency and shot making , many of the best matches come from a clash of styles.
"Runners" are the worst to play against... You know you have better skills, better shots, but all your opponent does is just run the bird down and put it over... Most people can't get to these "shots" but they have that energy and reach to just get to it. But then there's the Opponent who makes you run..also a bad thing You know you are out of the rally but the opponent just puts it somewhere you can reach it
i'd say carl baxter is a very good example (for all you canadians out there) of a runner... as for me, i'm a nothing... got no power, got no running ability.... why i play and how i still maintain my ranking is beyond me.. as for being annoyed by playing people that can only run, i think that if you feel that way, it's your fault for not going to the gym more often, and if you really are much better, why not your your skills, be patient and wait? it doesn't matter how well you run, if you have poor skill, you just can't cut it eventually... (i mean on higher levels)
Yeh he is a good runner mainly because he usually practices like 2 on 1 with the Canadian Team. When I saw him play he was like "Bleeep Off" because they were making him run left to right. I guess it is good practice but I find it kind of boring watching him play since he has really no deception (Heh, remember what that deception article mentioned - Teams such as Canadians lose sometimes because they've got no deception). Yodums
I've been working on my fitness recently, and I notice that I can maintain an intense level of play much longer in singles, and it helps ALOT. Trust me everyone, excellent fitness is so important if you and your opponent are on equal grounds for everything else. I don't try to hit so many winners now, and I tend to clear it more and let the opponent make the mistakes. I saw Carl play in Ottawa at the HP tournament there in the final against Nathanial. Nathanial is a player who likes to end the rally quickly, so it was like a clash of styles. Carl had a good backhand-rearcourt side forehand cross-court slice (if you can follow that, basically, cross-court slice from back-right corner that was very fast) that produced a few winners right off of Nathanial's serve. It's a shot I want to develop. Phil
I totally understand what you're saying. It can be frustrating against players who seem to have never-ending energy to run everything down and bash whatever they can as hard as they can. I think at that point it becomes a mind game. I found that the most effective but hardest thing to do is to keep from being too eager to show them that they can't reach everything and finish the rallies early. I find that I usually end up committing too many unforced errors and giving them the game rather than making them earn it like they're so eager to do. Things like smashing to the sideline but missing it on the wrong side of the court i.e. the "out" side... What I'm trying to do now is just keep my cool and try to use more deception and last-minute flicks to let them run as they like. In one recent singles game, I managed to do this and allowed myself to trail but I stayed firm and kept to my strategy. Although I was losing points, he was running a heck of a lot more than I was. Finally at 5-11, my opponent was slowing down and I took the game 15-11. One important point about footwork... don't rush the footwork. Get there only as fast as needed so that you're ready to move again as soon as you've hit the shot. If you get there too fast, you spend extra energy to build that speed, then extra energy to stop due to the faster speed, then after waiting for the shuttle, you'd probably reached a complete stop so it's going to take you more energy again to start you moving to the next shot. For a heavy guy like me (heavy bones from too much milk, methinks), this kills my legs...
I think all the current China ladies singles players are runners. Gillian Clark commented in 1 tournament that the only way to beat Camilla Martin is to keep returning her shots, and try not to make mistakes yourself as she is sharp and moves well around the court. Malaysia and Ina also very good at producing runners, eg. Foo Kok Keong, Rashid Sidek, Hashim brothers and also Ina in form of Ardy, Budi, Icuk etc. Anyway there is only so much running that one can do, Gong Zhi Chao found out in 1997 and improved on her game.People can get wise to a runners limited options sooner or later as proven in Japan Open. Roslin plays what is called the traditional 4 point game invented by I think Eddy Choong, ie. hit accurately to 4 corners and wear out your opponent.
The most recent games of Camilla I have seen were the Danish Open 2001 and Danish Open 2002 against Pi Hong Yan and Gong Ruina In both of those matches there were times when the Chinese ladies were reduced to a standstill. (Gong may have had a very long semi in 2002 though)
In Jake Downey's book, I think he states a forceful attack will go through a runner. I don't think much of Roslin's skill at the net compared to other top players. He tries to win by waging a 'war of attrition', trying to wear the opponent down to seek the mental advantage. It's OK if you can consistently return the opponent's attacking play. If the attack gets through the defence, the attacker gets the psychological advantage. If you have this years AE on videotpae, compare Roslin at the net position with Hafiz at the net. Don't you get the feeling Hafiz will kill a loose shot at the net? However, Roslin doesn't seem to have that same effect.......by seemingly NOT being aggresive at the net to the opponent, Roslin loses a psychological dimension of the game.
Cheung, by runner I think of a physically light player mens singles player with no penetrating shots who simply wins by reducing their opponent to a stand still. I don't think we see many of these players now at the top level. In fact Roslin despatched his early opponents in short time at the AE, and CH the more "attacking" player spent far longer on court, and this is often the case with CH in my experience. Surely all top players must be able to play the game either way, either with rallying or with attacking as the situation demands and whilst some players have an inclination towards one of these styles since they cannot always choose how the game will go they need to develop both "sides" of their game. The greatest players mix the two aspects of the game, the ability to hit winners and attack with the ability to defend and rally. I feel this is why Gade has , even considering his injuries, not fulfilled his potential yet, when he can play his game and dictate he is untouchable but when he can't he can lose unexpectedly. To me some of the great players recently who combined both sides well Sun Jun, Hoyer, even Rasmussen when he won the world mixed great smashing with rallying.
well.. Endurance is a very very important aspect in badminton........ ....i would prefer endurance than power play...... because... power play... if you cannot beat an endurance player... you'll get tired faster than them because u use so much more energy in returning shots..... and also if you smash from baseline... and suddenly your opponent give a return to the net... you'll have to run there....