TH can afford to be lazy because he's born with an incredible backhand.You're doing badminton champions an injustice when you said LCW scurries.If LCW scurries,then the rest of the badminton champions scrambles.LCW glides so lightly he can recover quickly that's why he has the fastest natural speed.LD does not have the fortune of TH's backhand;that's why he resorts to the next best option:hitting overheads.He can do impressive overheads because he's gifted with power so even a little 'u' turn in executing overheads hardly results in a loss of directional power.LD has to hit 'homebase' position immediately because he's unlikely to reach the diagonal corner in time esp. when his opponent is LCW.LCW does not have to hit 'home base' quickly because he has the speed both in reaching and recovery to cover diagonal corners in time.If TH has to hit overheads like LD, he would have to work so hard, he would have quit badminton long ago. Every champion is gifted in their own way;what they don't have,they have to make up for it in some way.
I'm a relative newcomer to this sport but have significant experience in volleyball and cycling. Surely you all know it but perhaps don't explicitly realize is that LCW is naturally quick, very quick, but also extremely light. Looking at the slow mo- youtube vid, you see how contorted and extreme LCW's movements are. If anyone weighing 10 lbs (4.5 kilos) or more tries to move like LCW, they will get injured very quickly. He is a culmination of many factors, particularly weight, to make him such a quick, agile and (when he decides to) powerful player. I definitely agree that TH is lazy in his movement, not because he uses his superb backhand often (what's lazy about using a powerful shot, especially when it takes less energy?) but because you can see he is often a half step behind the play - he can get away with it with lesser players, but not at the top level when his opponents LCW or LD are on their form. Now no top player is fat, but some are bigger like Rasmussen so it takes a lot more energy to move, and hence the efficiency of the footwork is critical. Overall, my pick for the best footwork would be LD.
LD has improved in his footwork and he is a very efficient mover just controlling the bird positioned in the half-court. In the past, he had to dive a lot for retrieving the bird that was supposedly from lack of footwork or anticipation. In that sense, I put more score in LCW who is epitome of all footworks that makes him the best defender with seamless movements.
This is a good view of LD's footwork (vs Chen Hong) during AE05. He has improved alot since then. Very smooth and fast.
LD has very [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]much i[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]mproved his efficiency. It is evident in the [/FONT]a[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]mount of steps he takes, versus his opponents. [/FONT]
I saw Wang Xing vs Firda yesterday. Wan Xing's footwork is not good, but she always could reach the shuttle in front of the net.
