Sad Future of Badminton

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by Yeung Chao, Oct 30, 2021.

  1. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    For even average level those who really play the sport, they will acknowledge the sport is one of the most exciting, dynamic but extremely difficult one to master. This sport does not receive the coverage it should deserve on world coverage. My eyes get glued to the TV to watch Thomas Cups, All England and Olympics. Since the day I started to have interest in the sport until now, I have nothing but sad feeling for this sport.

    Not only the sports has failed to receive the same respect it should have compared to Tennis, it is facing problems where almost 80 percent of the world do not have players good enough to challenge the remaining 20 percent.

    Every Thomas Cup , Olympics and World events, I always see the same group of countries dominating the last four finish. If you are from those group of countries, you do not really care. But for someone like me with globalist mindset, I feel sad to see the state of the sport where only a few set of countries WITHIN a continent is very good at it.

    I want to see South America, Middle East and Africa players being good at this. If the sport is survive being part of the Olympic, the game has to be spread across globally. We are past Tokyo 2020 and I cringe each time i watch a player from these countries play against badminton native countries. It is not only one-sided but these unseeded players DO NOT how to play at all.

    What on earth BWF is doing ? They are so bad at their job of promoting the sports. Dont they realise that if this carries on, it's a bad thing for the sports?

    That's organisational level problem. Now I want to focus on individuals, aren't there badminton enthusiasts in this world that know no borders when it comes to the love of the sport?

    Why don't these top players that turn coaching move to some unknown badminton countries to promote and develop the sports ? Here are the following scenarios that i thought would happen but NEVER HAPPEN.

    1) Top coaches move to Middle East or Egypt. Egypt is a country famous for Squash right ? Why no coaches want to go there and build foundation there ??!!! Imagine a new Arab country with good badminton profile,

    2) Peter Gade developing the sports in Sweden, Norway and Iceland ? Why is he not doing this work ? I thought being a scandinavian himself and also a real BADMINTON geek, he would still spend time coaching and developing the sports.

    3) Some coaches learn Spanish part time and try to move to South America, Mexico,etc and build up the teams. Canada is a waste of time so it's not worth coaching players that wont deliver results but South America and Mexico have so much untapped potential.

    4) Why no coach want to train Bangladesh or even Pakistan? Give them the foundation and within a few years with the right attitude and hardwork, they will give India a very hard time regionally.


    Why aren't these scenarios happening?!
     
  2. Hbmao

    Hbmao Regular Member

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    It may never get the publicity, but the sport is still popular all around the world. Table tennis is dominated by one country, but it is still being played everywhere…
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    if the ppl don't care, nothing will make them so.

    USA won a world championship in 2005. who cares? not anyone in the USA. might not even make 5 seconds of news.
     
  4. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are lost causes. They import as many players they want, get the best coaches but their results remain below par.

    However, I see big potential in South America nations, Mexico, West Indies, Africa, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

    It's a shame big coaches like Park Joo Bong, Peter Gade or others only care about money more than promoting the sport to deliver some major impact.

    I am waiting for someone to do a Jose Mourinho style build up of a team and then surprise the world with decent badminton.
     
  5. LenaicM

    LenaicM Regular Member

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    If PJB or PG never went to the US, Canada or Australia, it is not necessarily because of money but may be because of the non-proximity with their family, home or simply knowing the sport never took off in those countries because of the lack of athletes at the top level. Also it is not their role to promote the sport over there.
     
  6. SnowWhite

    SnowWhite Regular Member

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    Badminton is extremely difficult to master and very technical. The talent, hard work, and environment required to produce world champions requires a huge player pool to draw from. 1) because it is a numbers game and the more people play it, the more likely for there to be a super talent among them. And 2) because that super talent needs to be polished for years against other talented player to turn it into a champion. Countries without those player pools will never produce world champions (Carolina Marin is a miracle).

    They would hand you your *ss. It's difficult to appreciate the difference in level that exists between players. How unbelievably good must the number 20 in the world be, for there to only be 19 people who are better than he is? But to Axelsen it might simply be an easy early round 21-10 21-10. What about the number 100 or even 1000? Out of the millions on this planet that play badminton they are the 1% of the 1%. They are good ducking players, but they will go down against the top 20 like it is nothing.

    To claim that anyone who can't compete in the top circuit 'doesn't know how to play' is patronizing, delusional, and more importantly, it detracts from the sport you wish to glorify.

    I prefer my glass half full. During the Thomas cup I was pleasantly surprised that apparently there is a badminton presence on Tahiti, with its measly population of less than 200 000 people.
     
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  7. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    Any blind layman can see a big difference in skill and pace between real badminton player vs the ones from non-badminton nations. The gap is too big.

    My minimum requirement of them to be good (AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL) is to be AT LEAST a Malaysian state player level.

    I immediately turn my TV off when i see these games. Hardly any upset or fight put up to narrow the score gap. The ONE and ONLY memorable match i can think to be considered an upset was KEVIN CORDON. If my memory serves me right, he is literally the only player coming from an unknown background or badminton profile to create big upsets and narrow score gaps. Nobody else could achieved this so big up to him. It's a shame he has to finish his career without any world champ or Olympic medal(s).

    Oh please....speaking on Thomas Cup...most of the weaker nations were embarassing. Hardly any fight especially from Tahiti. They were there to make the numbers.

    The only player that did make the match interesting was Brian Yang. He is talented but unfortunately he have rough edges that may not be easily overcome.
     
  8. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    If all Badminton people at top flight think like this, then Badminton has a big problem and will forever not be given the actual respect it deserves .

    Why ? Because generally it's a monopoly and there's literally zero initiative to promote the sport properly.

    That's why i think it's sad.

    I wish i am qualified badminton coach with some experience. Given the chance, I will travel around the world and try to promote the sport at my own initiative.

    Imagine a new badminton country emerge and suddenly shock the world by winning a team event medal or an Olympic medal. That would be a nice fairy tale.
     
  9. LenaicM

    LenaicM Regular Member

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    It's a nice vision but in this world of ours, it seems utopian.
     
  10. Desireless

    Desireless Regular Member

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    Spain was one of those so-called “non competitive” badminton nations and yet Marin was a world dominator for a generation. Was it a miracle from God? No…Marin had been a lacklustre player on the tour for years. All it took was the right coach to tap into her potential and unleash the kraken, so to speak. The same could happen in any country given the right conditions.
     
  11. vozer here

    vozer here Regular Member

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    another one is nguyễn tiến minh with wc bronze medal. Vietnam should be a competitive badminton country but it's actually not. A lot of ppl play badminton but not that much often watching it and rarely go professional. Tiến minh is an accidental talent, not a talent born from a good system.
    Vũ thị trang, nguyễn thùy linh have good results when they play against top 20 top 30. But you rarely see a vietnamese in international tournament except asian champs, seagames, wc, olympic because trip cost too high
    don't need that high, mine is germany or england
     
    #11 vozer here, Oct 31, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2021
  12. viver

    viver Regular Member

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    I am a Mourinho supporter and I am not sure if you have an idea about the salaries of Mourinho, Guardiola, Klopp, Tuchel (football coaches) versus Park Joo Bong, Peter Gade (or any other top coaches in badminton).

    Can you also explain why you say Park Joo Bong, Peter Gade or others care about money? Do you expect, for example that Park comes to Canada (or other potential countries of your posting) and offer his coaching for free? Please bear in mind that in different countries the support varies substantially from sport to sport. In Canada for example, I believe you do not get support from the Government as a badminton athlete, you'll have to support yourself for your training, coaching and health requirement needs - if not mistaken Michelle Li mentioned in an interview to a local TV station here in Canada that the costs involved for her training and trips to international tournaments amount to over CAD $100000 annually and it is mainly from her pocket (and supporters) and not from the Government. This alone from players from countries not traditionally strong in badminton deserves a lot more respect from us badminton fans for their dedication and effort put into the sport. Not just the end results.
     
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  13. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    So what's keeping you from doing this as a so called 'enthousiast' yet you expect others to do so instead? You also seem to be unaware that people like Ardy Wiranata and Kim Dong Moon actually live in Canada (let alone the enormous Asian community there. Big distances between cities is the biggest obstacle for such big countries with low population imo), Peter Gade was a coach for France and now runs his own academy (though in Denmark) and judging by the instagram page is visited by a lot of foreign players. Badminton Europe regularly invites players from all over Europe to their training centre to practice, Madrid was one of the certified centers which has helped Spanish badminton as well.
    Viktor Axelsen has moved to Dubai to a training centre so you might get your Middle-East wish granted.
    Also keep in mind an Olympic cycle has just ended which usually means retirement for some players and a fresh start/opportunity for others. TUC has been used for young players to gain experience for example
    Lastly, badminton also doesn't put food on the plate in the majority of territories you mentioned, they have a lot more to think about than investing in a sport with no financial return.

    o_O ... From European Junior champion to senior World Champion in 3 years is lacklustre now :D? Also interested to know about this magic coaching change? http://www.badmintoneurope.com/cms/default.aspx?clubid=4685&cmsid=239&pageid=5381&m=1501213

    Reminds me something I saw earlier this week:
    Brian Scalabrine To A Heckler Who Challenged Him To A 1-On-1: “I’m Closer To LeBron Than You Are To Me.”
    Btw the Tahiti International has been around for quite a few years by now, a welcomed tournament usually on the way to Olympic qualification ...
     
  14. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    I do not really care about European countries, Canada and even America. They HAVE A SYSTEM and their players are at least as good as or above Malaysian state player level.

    But I really do feel annoyed to see how little resistance or competitiveness displayed by them especially in the Olympics. When I see the way Australian, New Zealand, USA and Canada play in all categories and always lose, i always feel sorry for the real badminton players that deserve those spots to compete and show how good they are. It's as if the four years wait are for nothing and they did not use it properly to step up their game whatsoever. The only player that really stepped up and make himself known is Kevin Cordon. That is to be admired and respected.

    Next, I am talking about countries that DO NOT HAVE A SYSTEM.

    Imagine someone goes into Bangladesh or Pakistan to build a badminton training system. They will give India a very hard time in derby games.

    Imagine, there's a system in place for Latin America. We will see a more competitive and exciting PAN-AMERICAN games rather than seeing it constantly being swept by Canadians and Americans that could hardly even score above 10 points against Europeans/Asians.
     
  15. justiceforlcy

    justiceforlcy Regular Member

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    With what money?
     
  16. Green_er

    Green_er New Member

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    Just to remind you, PJB, Rexy, Peter gade etc owe nothing to badminton. It's not their responsibility to promote it beyond their capability and interests.

    Even Taufik once said that badminton isn't his life. It's something he loved to do and he felt lucky to be able making a living out of it.
    So many players & coaches can't.
     
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  17. viver

    viver Regular Member

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    I really cannot understand what you are talking about but guessing:
    You expect top coaches/ex-players going to these countries, on their own expense, build a facility from the ground up specifically for badminton, using their own savings; maintain the facility (water, electricity, gym, showers, etc) also from their own pockets; train the local population for free, feed the potential athletes with adequate nutrition, pay for the associate coaches, physiotherapists, massage specialists, physical trainers; all expenses for the trips to international tournaments and maybe their private schooling too in order to accommodate the badminton training schedule.

    If you say yes to my guesses above, I would ask how much are you willing to contribute for this magnanimous and altruistic quest :). Please keep in mind the numbers forwarded by Michelle Li, the Canadian badminton player for training and participating in international competitions representing Canada and coming mainly from her own pocket - over CAD $100,000.00 or equivalent to Malaysian Ringgit $334,246 for one player. I guess you can reduce this estimate by 30% since this is for countries that do not have a system.

    I am also not quite sure, are you aware that the countries that DO NOT HAVE A SYSTEM but that they have a system of their own (may not be working to your expectations) and things are not FREE.
     
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  18. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    Using USA as example. USA have great coaches, Tony Gunawan / Halim Haryanto are like the best among many other very good ones who are ex-international and national player. Kids have rich parents who can afford coaching, better facility, better health care, better nutrition, better facilities. And yet USA are lost cause.

    Why would you think 3rd world countries, with almost worst everything, has better potential? What can they do that would make them less of a "lost cause" as USA, Canada?
     
  19. keithl

    keithl Regular Member

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    I thought this had happened before when China came out from nowhere to shock the world powerhouses of Indonesia, Denmark and certain player from India.
     
  20. Yeung Chao

    Yeung Chao Regular Member

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    These countries have bigger pool of players if more people wish to play and their mindset and attitude will be very different compared to these ones with first world problems.

    Notice that most good badminton players come from less developed OR financially wealthy countries with the exception of Denmark and England.

    There is a big correlation between this factor and how good their players are.
    So why not consider a big potential yet to be tapped in the Latin America, Africa and Middle East.
     

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