Badminton: Gopichand bows out of World Championships Friday, June 8, 2001 (Seville): All England Champion Pullela Gopichand's dream of adding the World Championship to his kitty remained just that - a dream, as he was beaten 10-15, 10-15 by fourth seed Chen Hong of China in the quarter-finals today. At the San Pablo stadium, Gopichand troubled by a blister on his left foot struggled with his mobility and that was just the sort of edge the Chinese required, finishing off the match in 45 minutes to avenge his defeat in the All England final and book a place in the semi-final. In a highly tactical match, it became obvious that the Chinese have studied Gopi's strengths in great depth and it was obvious that they have decided to target Gopi's strength - the net. While at Birmingham, Gopi started slowly before going on to register a comfortable 15-12, 15-6 victory, today things turned out to be just the opposite. It was Gopichand ranked sixth in the world and seeded sixth, who began well attacking lot more and attempting to mix up his game. Leading 3-1, Gopi's shoe broke and he had to ask for a new pair, which did not settle in too well to his bandaged foot. Despite that, he stretched his lead to 6-1 before the Chinese world number four began to adapt to Gopi's style of play. Playing a bit slower than he did while losing the All England final, Hong drew the Indian to the net, forcing him to lift the shuttle, which the Chinese used to proceed to kill. Also, when Gopi decided to play Hong at the net, the Chinese invariably used a flat, fast push to the backhand corner to displace the Indian. With Gopi finding that he was being caught out where he was usually at his strongest, he went for broke, trying to overpower the Chinese, a strategy that was never likely to find much success against the super-fit and super-fast Hong. The match itself rarely rose to any great heights with rallies being few and far between as both men went out all guns blazing. The result was a quick, staccato sort of match where either a quick winner or an unforced error decided the point. With the points not forthcoming, the five-time Indian national champion had to resort to a totally different style of play, attempting to slow the game down so as not to give Hong any pace. But even that did not work, as Gopichand's strength has never been his defence. Once it was becoming obvious that Gopichand was running out of ideas, Hong drove home the advantage in style, looking very ominous as he raced through the opening game in just 20 minutes. In the second game, Gopichand, playing in his first tournament since the All England Championships looked more determined as he began with a brilliant point at the net and then quickly followed it up with a powerful leaping down the line smash to make it 2-0. But the speed of the Chinese and Gopichand's sluggishness made it easy for Hong to stay with the Indian and again, Hong managed to displace his opponent, something which Gopichand had done so well at Birmingham. "If he manages to keep Hong guessing, Gopi should win. If on the other hand, Gopi allows the Chinese to get under the shuttle, he will have no chance," was the prediction of Prakash Padukone before the match began. And so it turned out. With Hong dominating the frontcourt, it was he that moved the Indian around and that was where he won the match. In fact, Hong was playing just like Gopichand did at the All England, setting the agenda and making the world number six stick to it. The 27-year-old from Hyderabad did all that he could, changing the strategy, slowing the tempo, serving high and even playing a totally defensive style towards the end, but nothing could shake the Chinese powerhouse as he strode to a highly satisfying victory which levelled up their personal head-to-head tally at two wins apiece. For Gopichand this was a shattering loss, but a last eight appearance is something that only Prakash Padukone before him has managed for India and as he goes into the remainder of the season, he will have a chance to make amends. (PTI)
**In fact, Hong was playing just like Gopichand did at the All England, setting the agenda and making the world number six stick to it** Hong read and studied gopichand like a book, therefore, the exam was just a tutorial exercise.
Studying opponents Why is it that the Chinese players seem to be the only ones who prepare specifically for a particular opponent? Is China the only team that prepares for upcoming tournaments by watching videotapes of likely and challenging players? This practice has been common, if not universal, for many years in American professional and collegiate sports. Especially in football, players and coaches are always commenting that they will have to "hit the tapes tomorrow." I would think one might understand an opposing player's strengths and weaknesses more easily watching videotapes in badminton than in almost any other sport. In a connected issue, it seems to me that few people on this board actually describe the playing styles of most of the current Chinese badminton stars, but rather refer to them as either being very quick or as having prepared well for a particular match. How does the Chinese team training differ from that of other top badminton teams? Are Chinese players taught to be more versatile in their playing styles, so that they can adapt and react to more quickly to the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents? Do the Chinese coaches encourage and allow their players to focus on their natural strengths or try to make their games more well-rounded?
Re: Studying opponents Well it worked against Gopi, how come it backfired against Gade? Zhao Jian Hua commented on Starsports that to beat Gade one needs to be versatile and have brains like say Sun Jun on court.Chen Hong is only 21 years old and depends too much on skill and speed, he has some way to go before he can be a real champ. Luckily for him he lost this time, otherwise he would become smug like his compatriots, get lazy, develop some attitude and self destruct.Chen Hong will keep improving and reach the top maybe next year.
Re: Studying opponents Right, Zhao's comments are of course valid cos he's a maestro himself. Dunno why Chen Hong's 2nd game is so lacklustre.Gade commented that CH was tired.That was uncharacteristic of him as he normally has good stamina. It could be just one of his off-days or having kinda 'burnt out' with so many games played at such high level what with the AE, Asia Cup & 4 rounds of the W-C'ship.
Re: Studying opponents The Chinese are not the only ones who videotape matches. Other countries do as well. (eye witness report) As for playing styles, being very quick is a playing style! And the Chinese are not the only ones who are quick. Peter Gade is very fast. Since many other countries have employed Chinese coaches, I would change your question around to say, how are other countries training different from Chinese team? If you ever manage to see some of the training drills these people go through, it will be an incredible experience. Every top player in the modern game must have a well rounded game. None would survive with a weak aspect. Some just have better strength in particular areas. Have you managed to get some videos of the top matches? The modern game is amazing to watch. (It was amazing to watch in the mid 80's which is when I got hooked)
Re: Studying opponents Cheung, I have not had the time to obtain any tapes, but a friend's family in KL has been taping the tournaments last week and this week, and his brother-in-law should be bringing them back to the States soon, so I will be borrowing those. Isn't quickness a bit general for a playing style description? A player can be offensively quick like John McEnroe, defensively quick like Michael Chang, or both, like Andre Agassi? (sorry to use tennis players as a reference but until I watch those tapes, I still am not familiar with badminton players' styles yet). All three of those players have quite distinct styles of play.
Re: Studying opponents well I reviewed Gade /CH game. I think Gade's strategy was to go for broke in 1st game and outgun CH, playing as though he was still 18. In second he switched to a doubles format,played like a miser, tight net, leaping at net after weak returns to net by Ch, pushed steep shots behind to force Ch to play with back to net, all very good strategy.Maybe Gade may be playing his last WC and gave 100% commitment. CH definitely not tired, I don't think he even sweated, he was not experienced enough to know how Gade was dissecting him. Sun Jun countered well in same situation in Sudirman Cup in 1999. Cheung is a producer of badminton tours in vcd format.
Re: Studying opponents The footwork and area of court coverage is different in badminton, hence using tennis as an analogy and extrapolating deductions from tennis player's styles would not fit. We are referring to the top players. At an amateur level, some seperations may become more distinct. e.g. A particular player known for his heavy smash but poor forecourt play, defensive player with poor smash, faster court coverage but less consistent.
Re: Studying opponents A good analysis. It was amazing to see Chen Hong totally taken apart in the 2nd game. I was hoping for a famous Gade mental wobble but it never materialised.
Re: Studying opponents umm..... Wut do u mean by "playing as though he was still 18"????? And wasn't Gade a junior World Doubles Champ be4????
