Apparently BG66Sharp, at 35lbs. Thought it was BG80 ... but do know of another (semi-)pro player that had it strung with BG80 at ~35lbs. And know of someone else that has one strung at 35 with BG80 as well but just a spare racket, with ARC10 as main ...
I thought people were joking when they said 35, that is crazy though. Laybourn's consistent 35lbs on his NS9900 (verified) was also insane. Think I heard he played with a 36lbs in one tournament which is just
I wonder who has the b***s to string BG66 sharp at 35 lbs! But then again, Yonex isn't exactly sponsoring me anytime soon...
Tago to Rise Higher 09 Jan 2013 http://www.maybankbadmintonopen.com/newspage.php?id=91 LAST year’s beaten finalist Kenichi Tago of Japan is hoping to go one better in this year’s Maybank Malaysia Open. The world No. 6 lost to Lee Chong Wei in straight games 12 months ago. Tago’s performances has been rather inconsistent lately and suffered a less than convincing December after losing to Chan Yat Kit of Hong Kong in the first round of the Macau Open GP Gold. However, he will be ready for the fight in Malaysia and will start his campaign against Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng, whom he has beaten in three of their four meetings. Tago started playing badminton at the age of thre, to follow his mother, Eriko Ueno’s footsteps. Ueno was one of the top badminton players in the world in the 1970s. By the age of 10, he began playing competitively. Nicknamed, Kenbo, he has been in the national team since 2006 and made his first international debut at the Asian Junior Championships. The 24-year-old was the first Japanese in 50 years to have reached the singles final of the All-England Championships in 2010 but lost to Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
Here's my 2012 report card for Kenichi Tago. In 2012, Tago participated in 16 tournaments, and the OG and TC. He had just one solitary finals appearance to show for his efforts: the Malaysia Open, where he lost (obviously) to LCW. Kenichi is approaching 24 years complete this year; he is at an age where he should be approaching his finest form and fulfilling his undoubted potential, much like his peer Chen Long. Alas! rational man proposes, Kenichi disposes! Marks per item: Final Results: 3/10, Fail Consistency to justify rankings: 4/10, Fail Application: 3/10, You gotta be joking Brain-fades per tournament: 9/10, Excellent Unjustified respect for the top players: 11/10, Through the roof Display of potential: 5/10, Ordinary Commitment to fulfill potential: 3/10, Now you're really pushing your luck Overall standing: Mind-numbing Any help? Any hope?: His coach (a respected international ex-player who is doing wonders for the rest of the Japan team) cannot, obviously. TXH will be unable to. Morten Frost, Rexy, Hendrawan, Gopi, my uncle and the Prime Minister of Japan will be unable to. His mother will be unable to. If she or the others could, he'd be owning at least a few SS and/or GPG titles by now. Recommendations, who can help?: Only Beatrix Kiddo can.
I'm very impressed with Tago's performance at the India SS against LCW. his style had changed with more emphasis on his attacking game, which actually caught LCW off guard.
I think Tago was rather passive. If you compare his style now and the Tago during All England 2010, he's not as proactive in his attacking game. And when he actually started to attack, you could se how effective it was against LCW. He should've tried to be a little more aggressive I think and taking to account that LCW hasn't been in his A-game since the Olympics, Tago had a good shot at this but missed it. Also, what's up with him using his backhand all the time? I know that Taufik is his hero and all, but seriously, there were times when he could've used overhead instead. It even became his downfall when LCW had match point.
It was encouraging to see Tago on better form at the Indian SS. The Semi Final against Pawar was great. His determination following a terrible line call diving on 3 occasions to win a point. Conditioning is the only thing that is preventing him from using an all out attacking game. Of course the overuse of backhand is still very suspect as demonstrated by LCW pouncing for match point on one of his weaker efforts. I hope he can continue with the same focus in his next tournament
the more mature tago becomes, the more backhand he does recently eventhough he's very proficient at it but still and some point where down the line overheadsmash was an excellent choice, he clears it instead with backhand well at least at driving, he's so calm and got a lot of variations at his backhand side. push back, double motion, or bring it closer to the net. rarely get an unforced error
I think he is looking up to Taufik too much. I mean, even Taufik didn't use his backhand that much when he was younger - he only started to do that after like 2006. Tago needs to make use of his energy and speed while he can. He is very good at backhand shots but forehand/around the head is always > backhand.
Yep, he's shown good improvement. Now he has to learn to play more patiently before smashing wildly outside the lines.
LCW appeared in great form but seemed puzzled in the first game by the quality of Tago's play. He made very few mistake, his attacking play were precise, his defense excellent. If Tago could play like that on a regular basis, he'd be a force to reckon with.
Congrats on Tago making it to the finals...I just wish he won too... He's my favorite "next generation" player and it's sad that he doesn't even have a Grand Prix title despite consistently being ranked so high. Winning this title would have meant so much for him and Japan...he even said since he was a toddler he always dreamed of playing in the finals of JO... Not to mention LCW has beaten him 14 times in a row now...poor Tago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTmurjVxEFc Here's an interview which I guess is after the LCW match. I don't understand nearly enough Japanese to know what he's saying so it would be much appreciated if someone would translate or give a quick summary of what Tago says
Let me be the first to congratulate Tago on his semi-final victory over LCW in this year's French Open. He was bound to eventually defeat LCW after 15 attempts. I'm sure from know on Tago will start to win some tournaments. Well Done.
KT has shown good form and hunger in this French open and he's really talented and has everything - once he can strategise and plan his rallies in a match, he will start winning tournaments. I take him to win the finals tommorow vs JOJ.
Agreed. Prior to today, I felt his losing streak to LCW was a huge blow to his confidence. He certainly has the talent. I was a bit frustrated by the umpire today as he constantly insisted on inspecting every shuttle even when both players requested to have it changed.
