this might seem quite trivial but... do you think the proffessional players are friends with another esp. amongst players of the same country and esp. the ladies? (no sexist intentions)
Although these players are opponents on the court, they must respect each other and probably have spoken what little they can to each other off the court if they play often. I can't remember which tournament (think it was Uber Cup 2002) but there was a small article about Zhou Mi and Camilla Martin enjoy the events off court and communicating with one another through an interpreter. Perhaps JR can answer this one with more certainty.
Why not? Certainly there's some conflict of interest for players that competing in the same event but off the court, why not be friendly to one another? Malaysia player Wong Choon Hann is well like by many Chinese players even they fight fiercely on court, off the court they chat and they laugh. I think the main thing is charatecter matching and similar interest. I saw Ye Zhauying getting along very well with Dai Yun much more than Gong Zhichau and they all have the same goal of winnning the same title. It's harder to make friendship between European and Asians as language barrier exists but still probable thru admiration and respect from one another, in my opinion.
I would think so, especially considering they both have similar hobbies. I'm sure there's some tension after a competition, but if they both play cleanly and fairly then the best player that day wins... what's there to get upset about? If this was something like hockey or football where underhanded tricks are sometimes used then I can see angre brewing, but not for something as sportsmanly as badminton.
I think it's very possible for the professional players to be friends with each other off court as this can be seen in other sports as well. although I doubt they will be talking to each other about badminton strategies against each other but I am sure they have other common topics.
Since pros don't have much time to fool around......all they do most of time is training training training .........I guess people they see the most probably are opponents. So, they could be friends if they want! (Gee, I wish I can talk to Peter Gade! but I guess that I have to be awesome in badminton first)
Doesn't he make certain appearances at certain clubs? At least that's what I read off his DK Website or tried to make out. You can buy yourself and perhaps MYSELF a ticket and we can see Gade
