Hello! New to this actually-posting-on-forums thing even though I've been lurking on here the past few months or so. This is probably a really dumb question but does anyone else, especially those whose countries have a long history of top badminton players, have really high expectations on their own pro shuttlers compared to those of other countries? Or is this just some sort of nationalism speaking? (I'm Indonesian, if that may add some context.) Thank you!
As an Englishman my expectations are not that high. I do however get annoyed if we get beaten by European countries other than Denmark. France seem to have done something right the last few years, as they have done well in the European juniors recently, and it annoys me the country that invented the game can't match that. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
No expectation at all regarding my country (France) and even though it would be one of those strong nation of badminton, I think I would still first support athletes whom I appreciate the style of play or spirit on court regardless of their nationality. I actually don't get all that nationalist thing for an individual sport such as badminton, except during team events where it's the occasion to support your country.
Well you’ve got Zhang Beiwen representing USA, just one athlete but not any athlete. I think she is doing amazing considering her means (no coach from what I understood) and I loved her match against TTY at the World’s this year.
When they invent “Full-contact Ice-badminton”, the rest of the world better beware of Canada. Until then, I will continue to enjoy being a neutral; cheering for anyone from anywhere.
Yeah, she's really awesome but she was born in China and lived and trained in Singapore until recently so she's not really like a hometown hero. I do like she is getting the American name out there, and I'm impressed with how much she has improved with very little national support. But I wonder if/when America will produce a top 10 player that was born and raised in America.
Ah that’s another story... most top players representing the USA are not really coming out of the American badminton system. Rather like Zhang Beiwen, Mark Alcala is from the philippines if I’m not mistaken (there was a BWF profile about him not long ago). Which is by the way one of the few East Asian country who doesn’t have any representatives at the top level and used to. Too bad because the sport is very much loved there yet the government does not have a budget for their athletes.
Badminton here in the philippines is filled with dirty politics with a few names controlling the national scene.
And also the fact that we are a basketball-crazed country. Basketball gets all the spotlight/big money even though, physically, we have zero chance of improving because basketball is a big man's game unlike for other sports where we actually have a chance of topping the world. Sad
Howard Bach moved to USA when he was two years old. So practically through and through American raised.
Thank you for your responses! While I kind of expected these answers from the countries you all mentioned I wonder what those from other badminton giant countries (e.g. China, Malaysia, India, heck, fellow Indonesians) think?
Yeah, but his greatest success was more than a decade ago and short-lived. When is an American going to compete at the highest level for years on end? And I certainly don't expect a powerhouse like Lin Dan or anything to dominate the #1 spot for years and years, but what about a Racthenok Intanon or a Carolina Marin? To really get Americans interested in badminton, and inspired, we need a consistent player that regularly gets (near) to the top so people can first hear about them, and then start to follow them. I've heard Carolina Marin is single-handly responsible for hundreds of new players in Spain just because she's been at it for for close to a decade and slowly people have been watching her and getting behind her. Americans won't flock behind a sudden winner of some seemingly random competition they have never heard of before, they need it to be on a big stage (like the Olympics) and then they need to get invested and start watching them continue playing. I do think Zhang Beiwan has the staying power and she isn't going anywhere anytime soon, which is a step in the right direction, but again, she's too easy to dismiss as "not american." Americans are so judgy, haha.