Being a player and now also coach, i've always been very interested in the mechanics and techniques of badminton strokes to improve players. In order to regain power in my own smashes, which i've lost after months (even years) of being lazy on court and play very passive using a defense/counter-attack style, i've been watching a lot of videos and analyzing pro's smash techniques against my own trying to figure out how i lost that much power in that specific stroke. In doing so I've managed to regain much of my own power and helped my players on their smashes. I've come to the conclusion that Praveen Jordan, much like Fu Hai Feng, Goh V Shem, and Jung Jae Sung (RIP), are able to generate that much power because they are among the few that use perfect smashing techniques. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of heavy hitters out there that can generate power consistently like Muhammad Ahsan, Marcus Gideon, Zheng Siwei, etc. But some just have a little bit of an edge simply by having the perfect smashing techniques. Every player has their own style of play, their own way of swinging the racket so i'm aware that there are many factors that can vary the speed of a smash. Leaving all the common things we all know like body rotation, snapping of the wrist, etc. The top smashers do several things that some other players don't consistently. We all know that in order to perform the best smash, one has to create the maximum racket speed at the point of contact like a whip. Here's are the difference i noticed in certain players... 1) Bring the elbow up to the side of the head: this is how they always manage to get some of the best angled smashes I've seen. Players like Marcus Gideon usually have a very strong smash but it is often flatter in trajectory simply due to the contact point of the shuttle. Yes, Marcus is shorter than Praveen, but so is Jung Jae Sung. By bringing the elbow up that close to the head gives the maximum height reached when hitting the shuttle. 2) Core crunch: Praveen does it less than Fu Hai Feng and Jung Jae Sung but it is still more noticeable than other players. The crunch of the ab provided an extra weight transfer snap that a lot of people ignore. I was able to improved my players' smashes simply by telling them to commit to the smash with an extra crunch of the ab on impact 3) Lighter grip: One can clearly see how Praveen consistently loosen his grip on the racket during the prep phase of his smash stroke. By having a looser grip on the handle, you are loosening up your forearm muscles and wrist allowing for a more natural and powerful pronation whip of the racket. These are the 3 main things that I noticed my favourite smashers all have in common compared to other heavy hitters. Every players open up shoulder, rotate core, weight transfer from body to shoulder to arm to wrist, and finally snapping of the wrist to perform a smash. But in my opinion, these are the 3 things that give certain players consistent powerful smash with better angles. Let me know if you agree or not on certain things
This week's MOLA TV PBSI Home Tournament result : XD The winner is as expected, the upset is that the second seed Faizal/Widjaja didn't make it to top 4. They ended up being their group's runner up, had to face Praveen/Melati in QF and lost.
PBSI should have put Kevin with a young women double player in this tournament just to make it more interesting They should also put Praveen and some XD-specialist player in MD tournament last week.
I don't understand how professional athletes can be so fat and not be ashamed. Seriously. It's sad to see that they both look like average overweight person.
Do you honestly think fitness is that limiting for them? Is Jordan slow? Melati not agile? How do you know they are not ashamed? You should be!
I didnt phrase myself very well. Yes, they would of course benefit from being fitter but it’s not like that’s the main reason they perform badly. Have you ever seen them struggle from fatigue? Other players like Kido and Zhang Jun were also criticized for their physique but went on to achieve great things. Put your critique where it’s relevant. Imo Jordan’s error rate and melatis defence
Kido played in a different era. Today fitness is pretty much necessary and it's also easier to get in shape and eat well. If they were actually physically fit, they'd be much better. Faster. Fitness affects mind too. It's a scientific fact. This pair looks like average overweight humans not professional badminton players. It's sad to see.
True, seems like Indonesia don't put as much emphasis on the health side. I think Akane Yamaguchi slimmed down a bit and He Bing Jiao has definitely lost some extra weight. Nobody is saying they should starve themselves but at least be at a comfortable body fat for an athlete, it's not unrealistic.
I thought exactly the same for the MS Mauritian Player - I thought he was a bit too bulky for MS and had difficulty moving. But Jordan was always bulky and he had incredible power. He was still moving well and doing jumpsmash. But I just didn't see that in this Olympics. I guess Covid might have affected them more than we expected. I don't know.
Their lack of communication is apparent and has been going on for a couple of tournaments already. Whatever the problem, make up soon! : )
Pramel was showing a better response after being complained by the coach. But I think the problem is more complex than the communication. From love affair in the past which not yet completely end, up to, sorry to say this, physically Melati unfitness. This accumulates and seem to impact Jordan performance as weel. *See his 2nd game in Indonesian Open 2021.. Hopefully they could comeback in better shape. Otherwise, they may find themselves in the end of the road...
