This have been discussed a lot in all latest posting/threads but I thought it deserves a seperate thread. I think it's quite a shame that in a tournament of WC level the organizers did not think of something so essentianl like proper arena conditions. There is no doubt there is serous wind/draft problem in the arena as people attending the tournament testified and as can even be seen clearly from TV footage. I was amazed to see a closeup shot of a shuttle dropping and the shuttle head is drifted backwards before it touches the court. It is obvious it is affecting players heavily and not to the same amount on all player which is causing weird results like Taufik-Kenneth 3-15 game, and few more upsets that could have been result of the arena conditions. If IBF desires to increase badminton level, I don't think that overlooking such trivial factor in the WC is the way !! it may also shadow the result of the WC if it will be claimed players lost due to draft. I would think this is something that should be checked in scientific way before any tournament, just like the net height is being verified. I hope it will be leasson for future events.
i think u have overblown it. some players may LOSE and some may WIN due to draft, it works both ways. this is USA, there is NO such things as real badminton stadium, just stadium or arena for hockey, basketball, rock shows, trade shows, etc
I did not mean to blow it out of proporsions, but i don't agree it's something to ignore. I think players should play in netural conditions and win/lose based on their badminton skills, and not their ability/lack of ability to adjust to draft.
I agree with Yuval here. I too have seen footage in which shuttle drifting is clearly visible. I geuss I'm just a little disappointed, the World Championships, and your getting conditions you wouldn't expect to find at your local gym? It's just a bit pathetic.
I'm wondering if this was unexpected and only discovered on the first day of play. I mean, I'm sure there must have had some professionals test out the facility, or even amateur level badminton players to have a game or two, and then give feedback to the organizers. Was this even addressed? Or just plain ignored? -dave
I don't think this was not known, maybe just ignored. One of the reasons why badminton should not be played in big stadiums is precisely of this problem - and this is not a secret, the coaches/players know it and surely the people at IBF knows it. In the past I have seen in Chinese stadiums something called 'wind curtain' - the people responsible mentioned that the air is blown top-down vertically to create a barrier preventing the draft affecting the games. At least I did not hear the players complaining about excessive draft, but I think those stadiums were not as big as the one in Anaheim.
I do agree that the when you lose due to draft is just an excuse. What happen to those who win? But since this this the World Championship. I do expect that everything have to be up to a certain standard at least to a near perfect playing condition.
i thot the edge courts are affected. Now they r using the 2 middle courts, with ceiling to floor curtains placed on the sides
No,That's not the way to look at it.Badminton is an Indoor Sport so you cant have external like conditions prevailing,atleast not in the WC.Such things cannot be ignored.If u regard Badminton as one of the best sports then there is no room for compromise.[imagine something else like this happening in other sports].Badminton is my no.1 sport,so 'everything' in my view needs to be done with total proffesionalism.they[organisers] got everything right yet they missed something as important as this.still,no compromise.it must be a heartbreak for those who have been training hard and could n't adapt in time and crashed out early due to this.Under really drifty conditions the real loser is the game itself[no,i am not blowing this out of proportion]. You cannot leave the roof open and say that sunlight is coming for both the players so it does not matter.This is International Badminton and this is the WC,so no compromise at all.
This isn't the first time the World Championships have been held in North America before. It was held in Calgary in 1989. Anybody know what stadium/venue it was played in at that time?
Correction .It was held in 1985 and it was held in the saddledome.I don"t think drift was a big issue in that World Championship.
Ah, thank u bh. The SD is also used for hockey. Perhaps it's just the way the buildings ventilation and upper air drafts were designed.
for what it's worth: i asked Xie if they have gotten used to the draft in the stadium after nearly a week of competition, she says yes, and it doesn't bother them as much now.
Well then, atleast the players wont complain now. BTW how did u communicate with her.You know a bit of Chinese?
Well, I watched the match between Xie and Cheng, and to me, the draft really did seem to matter in that match. The draft was blowing from the side near the camera to the far side, and from the left to right. In the first set, Xie was on the side near the camera. She lost easily. She made too many mistakes. A lot of shots were long (draft) and Cheng's drops were not reachable (probably a combination of Cheng's excellent dropping and the draft blowing it towards the net). In the second set, it was reversed. Cheng made a few mistakes hitting her shots long. She also misjudged a Xie clear which she thought was long (without the draft, it would have been), and you can see that immediately after that, she motioned that she is on this side of the court now. Also, Xie managed to take most of Cheng's drops. I remember one shot which was heading wide to the left, Xie just left it, and it dropped on the line. In the third set, the same pattern as the first set reappeared, except this time it was not so bad for Xie because she has learned the first set lesson. Yet, she trailed 3-6. You can see that she couldn't take Cheng's drops. After the changeover, it was like the second set again. Also, in the past two days, I have seen many instances where players left the shuttle, but it landed well in. Yes, they should have known, but in the heat of the moment, habits take command. Many a times, there is no time to think.
Players should not win or lose due to the draft. Ideally, it should be due to their skills. Every venue has its draft, lighting etc. problems. Every player accept that as part of the game. But there has to be certain limits. On the extreme side, I can put huge powerful fans blowing into the court, justify that both players are affected by it, and say some may lose and some may win. I've mentioned before that extraordinary conditions level the field of play. Maybe that's why some top players are stretched when they usually aren't. Maybe it explains the 15-3 set loss that Taufik took from Kenneth. Come on, 15-3 Taufik loss. Not even the best players of all time can inflict that on Taufik when he is playing ok. And he was playing ok because he went on to beat Kenneth. I just have the feeling that the draft is at the back of players' mind that they can't concentrate on their normal play.
In the press conferece after WS semi between Xie and Cheng, I happened to be the interpreter. Xie expressed that the wind is not really an issue since the players change end anyway. The court advantage (or disadvantage) does not exist. -Sean
Yap. Wind Issue. LCW's defect is from the major wind issue. He fail to manage today's wind. I was watching live on TV. In the fist game, Taufik gain most points from shuttle being send out to the court. U can c LCW play well in first set, the base line smashes is unexpected n unreturnable. But is all a little bit out of court. LCW even ask ampire for a break, hope it will bring it not to send the ball out of have a split of time to familiar with the win. But is not allow by ampire. That is why the game just end in 10 minutes. In second set, we can c LCW start controlling. But again, when he lead 12-9. And tafik reach 12-12. He again send the shuttle out and gain match point for Taufik. Such a world class even, and the player can't really play their quality game. It is just like playing badminton in an open air court.... bad venue .... Others pls comment ...tq
