Boys n girls, which recent so call high tech feature has practically made a modern racket more superior than say one that is manufactured 10 years ago? Just an analogy, If I give Li dan, Lee Chong Wei each the original carbonex 21, a 20 year old racket, will each be able to perform equally best with their current racket? What do you think?And if you notice any leap in shuttlecock technology, pls share with me here. Because in my eyes, the main stream shuttlecocks look exactly identical to the one i used when I first picked up badminton which is a long long time ago. I expect some sort nanotechnology or titanium coating in the shuttles since these tech seem to be in trend.The same also true for strings, I say more than 50% tht is available presently came to the Market more than 5 or 6 years ago. Pls educate me, thanks a lot.
in 2003 Xia Xuanze won the world championship using a cab20. Wong Choong Hann was runner up and he used a cab21. the cab20 came out in 1984. cab21 came out in 1990-1991-ish. rare these days though, as Yonex seems to want players to use the latest and greatest. Wang Chen up to the day she retired, was also using a cab20. though she didn't win many titles, she was up there near the top.
as for strings, i still remember the day bg65 come out to the market. it was a much much better string than anything else available then. however, i do feel that strings have advanced a bit since. not sure what exactly the technology behind them is, but these days, strings like bg80 is better than bg65, and then the fancier strings like nbg98/bg66um/vs850 all feel better than bg80.
for shuttlecocks, i do know that manufacturer spend time trying to figure out the formula for better flight characteristics, they experiment with glues and balance, and feather selection/cutting. but in the end, i also don't feel much difference between shuttles from 10-15 yrs ago and the ones today. in fact, purely from raw material, i feel that the old ones are better and the quality has been worsening.
Quality wise, yes feather shuttles have been worsening in the past 10 years likely due to several bird flu epidemics that required mass bird culling.
Rackets improvement past 10 yrs have been from super high modulus carbon graphite giving stronger more stable frames and more attention being paid to aerodynamics allowing faster speeds, which is critical in the new rally point system.
not true. bird flu is over for many years already. the real reason is that in recent years geese farmer has been feeding forage (which contains hormones) to geese to speed up their growth. the result is that geese grow much faster but the side effect is the quality of the feathers isn't as good anymore.
Kwun, I think both of us are in the same wave length, bandwidth which ever u want to call it, hahaApart fr badminton and tennis, I also play golf n I think the technology in golf has progressed at an incredible pace for the past 5 years or so. More so in golf ball technology. Majority of golfer seems to think tht the newer material like titanium enables them to hit further which couldn't be far from the truth. A skilled golfer can pick up a 10 year old steel driver and hit a ball almost as far as a current us500 driver with the same ball.Lately, I feel tht the golf tech is approaching a plateau mainly because of golf rules tht lay down clear guide lines in the dimension of all the golf equipment thus restricting further advancement. Back to badminton, I should think it is tht difficult to invent the new feather using modern materials n new knowledge we once didn't know abt. Having said tht, it's not environmentally friendly though ;(
U took the words straight from the brochures. So thts wht they claim or hypothesise but wht abt the end results?
may be all the nylon shuttlecock manufacturers should come together and hold a one off competition with hugh price money to attract top players, play and compete only using 'Nylon' shuttlecocks and let's see if what public seems to think a more inferior shuttlecocks detract any of the excitement. p/s in my dream.....
one thing is for sure. it has allow the development of stronger and lighter frames. Which in turn enable you guys to string at those mega high tension you are use to.
Goose liver is much more valuable commodity than the feather entity. Would you suppose today's top 4 men's or women's player can win with a Cab 20 or 21 against newer tech'ed racquets held by their top 10 or top 20 counterparts? ...seriously!
Seriously, aside from material strength regarding golf, it also dealt with eye strength. Golfers nowadays have multifocal eye implants...telescopic implants to some extent.
For me in fact badminton racquets have changed dramatically those last years because of the new scoring system since 2006. They had to adapt to a faster game, needing more rigid racquets and stringing with higher tensions. Even now, more and more women singles are played with short service, following the trend men started. To follow a men doubles game nowadays at the highest level, a spectator shouldn't be cardiac otherwise he may develop some troubles...! This is for me the main reason why the racquets are so different nowadays.
^^^ Careful, the OP is just going to question whether you're regurgitating manufacturer advertising propaganda.
Tikok,U still fail to answer the question . But seriously, Has the game really changed tht much? Was the aluminium any less rigid, the traditional oval head any less strong than ISO? Or the contrary?Looking back at MD years ago( am not referring to the wooden racket era) they were as fast n as excited than any game played today.
I don't see where I fail to answer the question. It is one of my answers and the first one that come to my mind; simple. Yes, the game has really changed with the new scoring system. There are less and less MS competition games played with long serve, even at intermediate levels, strategically a lot of game approaches have changed. Less and less rallies. Whatch the videos and ask to guys like Gade who played enough of both "eras" if he doesn't agree with what I'm saying.
The long serve issue has been discussed before, it's part of the evolution of badminton play, got nothing to do with the scoring system or new tech. No?So since this has absolutely nothing to do with any new 'tech' incorporated into racket production. I still don't get my answer, thts why I said to you tht u didn't answer my original question. allow me to repeat my secondary questions, is aluminium less rigid? Is oval head less stable? Is past game really tht slow? 20 odd years ago, every golfers wore their glove n only took it off when they were putting. Then a famous golfer called Jack took off his glove after every shot whilst playing a televised major event. The following week, golfers around the world followed suit n started taking their gloves off. U see in any sport, wht the top players do in their respective arena often get pass on to the fans without having to know the reason. Long serve is still very useful in amateur MS games just not at the very very top pro level. Please don't see as a personal attack, tiKok. P/s I have seen lots of vids, thts why I asked?P/s I don't have gade's personal number, so I can't call him up n ask.
