basically I agree everything is worth a shot for the OP if they're getting a chance to revenge the defeat that non-reasonable-nothing-close-to-pro defence though is to damn hard to penetrate for mere local leaguers like me Which one do you think had beaten Alan Budikusuma and Paul Erik Hoyer(both Olympic gold medalists) back in his professional career hay day as a single player?
They all look a bit young for that generation of players (but then everyone looks young to me these days) I'm still no wiser to which player it is, though.
Haha, that may be true but it may be that if you simply smashed at their forehand you would get through with every shot. And if you improved YOUR defence (through training) you would actually be able to beat these guys because your defence becomes stronger than their attack. We have two ladies that play at our club who used to play for england. They now play senior badminton world championships etc. They can beat all the mens county players, even though they cannot hit smash winners. They do it mainly through their incredible defence - they hit a big high lift, and then play their defence such that the opposing men have to scramble to retrieve it. And this includes short lifts and net intercepts - they can still take those shuttles and turn the shuttle and block cross court. For them, smashing continuously is not something that will pay off, but due to their incredible defence, they can easily counter hit their younger and more aggressive male opponents. It is quite a sight They have beaten me many times with their evil defensive skills, and the only way to beat them is to move them!
Reminds me of watching Karen Beckman play; doesn't seem to move but always in the right place and plays shots that you didn't even know existed
I heard too much information I don't like here: 1. You MUST have a decent jump smash from the baseline (good enough for them to lift it so you can run forwards and allow your partner to take over). Without it, people will not worry about your smash and can easily get whatever back and possibly regain the attack. 2.Leading to pace: Varying pace will not get you an attack if your smash isn't good enough. I will simply lift very high after every shot, taking the pace out of the game. 3. I find it absolutely ridiculous anyone decent with a brain could not beat the women players no matter how pro they used to be. They cannot smash at all. Just punch clear and drop and repeat and make it an endurance workout. You don't give them any counter attacking opportunity and basically it's their only way to score points. Smash only when you are not vulnerable to counterattack, and mainly focus on not making mistakes.
I may sound like a broken record. Still I've one very memorable experience I'd like to share. During one Singles match my kid played, she had a very tight first game, winning marginally by 24:22. It seemed to me this was going to be a very tough match going forward. But then something happened. Her coach talked to her, and in the second game, she started scoring more easily, and rallies became shorter. She's exploiting opponent's tendency in backing away from the net in a hurry trying to cover the back. The moral is that you need to observe your opponent's tendency and weakness, and figure out how to exploit them. If after finishing a game/match, you can't say anything about them, while you still have unexplored territories, you haven't really played smart enough.
I agree with you on point 1 - people need to have some level of respect for your smash from the back line (and in general). Without it, they will not be worried about your entire attack including the drops and fast drops and variations. And regarding point 3 - Haha! Theres a little more to it than what you suggest. Of course they can win points by attacking. They have very accurate smashes, cover the net very well, are deceptive and hit the lines with fast drops and punch clears. The quality of their shots is incredible. But they will not hit many winners off their smash compared with young men with more power. They can be beaten, but in order to do that you need to be able to be more consistent than them (and pro level consistency is not easy to achieve for most) and you need to be able to play much much faster than them. Combining that speed with consistency, whilst resisting the urge to smash, is not easy for most players. Without smashing... most men have lost their ability to kill the rally and hence they have no way to win points. They force a short lift but then without smashing how do you finish the rally? Hmmm.... it can be tricky But you are right - if you get the tactics right (resisting all urge to attack), then you can come out on top. Although its still not easy. And so you know, those you call "ex pro" are still better than all but the top couple of current England players (who are young and fit and train hard - but still don't have the same level of skill that only comes with a decade of playing for your country). If I were to ever be as good as they are now, I would be very lucky and very happy. Even though I wouldn't be able to hit many smash winners (against county standard men - they destroy the ladies obviously). But I guess thats kind of what this thread is about - if you get one chance to play against opponents and your regular game isn't working (i.e. attacking as normal) - what else can you do?! And do you have the necessary technique, tactical awareness and discipline to carry out a winning game plan that is not natural to you. These things can be tough to learn!
I've played chau hoi wah before back in HK (2015 australia superseries winner). She's certainly stronger than any of the England girls save Gabby Adcock and thus definitely better than the expros. It honestly did not take much to withstand her attacks. My main idea was to focus and neutralize her accuracy advantage in skill. Now...I still lost, but it was due to my stamina going down faster than her. I played by lifting very high and avoiding tactical exchanges in the net. I'm fairly sure dragging the game forever against ex pros would work.
Long long way to go, I still couldn't even beat the top local leagues in my town, let alone province/ regional teams, we'll still have to beat the teams below these guys (we'll have to top the local leagues to advance to the next level). Their team though some of the players already play nationals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmb7HYiJSR8 (the pair on the far side) The guy in white was an Asian champion, highest IBF rank was 2nd in the world, coached Okuhara when she's a junior player. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmI5QmeoAsM
Good and smart pairs will always find way to break down good defense.... OP should continue to pressure the opponent and probe for weak responses. IMO high clear is not one of it (you will not learn/improve any of you shot by doing it). Oh yes, you put some practice on high clear....I will take the last statement back.
I've seen Flandy Limpele and his team playing regionals here, he's still really good and I mean still way too good for local leaguers standard. Some of the former world players still got the trace of their past glories. https://youtu.be/C51LWpeFmgU ^him and Tony G playing Senior WC
I think you are right - getting into a long hard game is a good way to go. But as you found out when you played someone of a similar standard... its easier said than done!
Lol, Matthew, you are the first person to agree with me on anything strategy wise. Everybody else generally disagrees with me. I'm in tears of joy. Restating my first point, developing a better smash is the best way to go if you can't break through their smash. Tricks wise though, I feel like most people in Mike Scully's videos play a lot of short lifts/upwards drives, so the pace is high and smashes should break through. At that level, I do recommend smashing at the body (at about neck height). Doesn't matter if it gets out, they can't dodge it in time, and their reflex is to block it anyway.
Yohan is only 38, and is a guy who was in the top 20 for xd and md in world ranking. I cannot get away with these tactics against this level. Matthew is talking about women 45+ years old, and these tactics should work out. Exactly like my former high school buddies in DBS (Ng Ka Long and Chang Tak Ching), I will get killed if I lift high and wait.
It's a joke. but I really did play against him yesterday. but I think we are deviating a lot from the original intention of the thread. The original poster's level is not at county level or above. Hence, I think the first page of advice is more applicable.
damn lol, that didn't even enter my mind. You'd have to be talking the current top players in peak form for me to even consider sarcasm. Against people who are defensive and try to drag the game out, you can play attacking and try to drag them out too. assuming your opponents are not fast players, repeatedly play aim weak smashes at corners, right hip, body and middle. Also, combine them with slow drop shots in roughly a 2:1 drop/smash ratio. You must do this while exerting very ltitle energy, while over-acting your laziness. This will force them to speed up. An example is provided below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GFGPxqsO8w Watch 4:30 for what I mean, the defenders are likely to make the first mistake.
They are not that old. They only just went in for the over 40s womens doubles. They normally play over 35s mixed and doubles. They won the all england and world championships a couple of years ago. Now they are normally in the semis and finals (but still win quite a lot).
I don't think Gail and Donna qualify for over 40 yet, Raymond I'm guessing Matthew means the vets AE and WC ?
