Summary
In the first part of this series of badminton skills articles, you discovered the different style of player. In part 2 I shared my thoughts on identifying your opponents strengths and weaknesses via a skills audit, albeit most of the time, an on-court, in the game, test your opponent type of audit.

In this third and final part of the series, it’s time to bring the pieces together and help you understand yourself as a player, your partner, how to be a winning team and how to design badminton tactics to beat your opponent(s).

Let’s Begin With Style…

Yes, we’ve covered this in part 1 but not like this.

In singles, whatever happens on the badminton court, it’s down to you, your skills, your strengths and weaknesses and whether on that day, you have all the pieces to defeat your opponent.

The first element of changing the game will depend on whether your style is getting the result against your opponent. Either they play the same style as you and therefore are better or worse at it than you.

Secondly, within the realms of style are skills. Is your opponent better equipped skill-wise than you are?
Having answered these questions, if you are in a commanding position, then there’s no need to change. However, if you are losing, then your ability to change your style and introduce new elements into the game and win will depend on two things…

1) Your ability
2) Your opponent’s ability to adapt to these changes.

It gets far more complex when you’re playing doubles. In this discipline, consideration must be made to both yours and your partner’s styles. Are they compatible or is this a recipe for disaster? E.g. if you’re an aggressive attacker and your partner is a defender thinker, then you’ve got such a mismatch it’s going to be difficult to gel as a pair.

There would need to be a good deal of compromise in order to find a tactical place to win points from.
So ideally, you need to choose your partner based on similar or complimentary styles.

Take a good look around your club members for a level and mixed doubles partner that would potentially fit this ideal. Do you know who they are? Have you partnered them in the past and played well together?

And What About Skills?

Just as important. Again, look for similar and/or complimentary skills. Why?

Whenever you partner a player, it’s important that you play the best combined game you can. To accomplish this, you need to maximise your strengths and minimise your weaknesses, however, you should always look to play to your strengths first and impose this game on your opposition.

In top class badminton I raised the point that the Defender Thinker style is obsolete. I’ll take this point further and suggest that the Aggressive Defender style is also obsolete because in the modern day game, matches are won based on the quality and consistency of the attack. Yes, player’s defences are becoming stronger, however, partnerships cannot afford to sit back and defend anymore.

A classic complimentary partnership at the moment is current All England Champions Jonas Rasmussen and Lars Paaske. Rasmussen is the big hitter in this pair and prefers to play at the rear court. Both are excellent defenders. However, the partnership works because Paaske is by far the better server, is almost unstoppable from half court forward and sets up so many opportunities for Rasmussen. He also has a masterful tactical brain.

Rasmussen is the more nervous of the two players and tends to suffer serving jitters during big points. He’s also prone to the most unusual, kamikaze attacks at times which are extremely high risk and subject to a high percentage of errors. But, it keeps their opponents wondering what’s going to happen next.

In this case, one is a more aggressive attacker but is complimented by an Attacking Thinker.

What About Lower League Badminton?

In league badminton where most of us play, all styles are still prevalent and effective, depending on standard of the players.

There are styles which do not work well together or are not particularly complimentary, however this doesn’t mean they won’t win a few games. Do you know which ones fit well together and which ones are a complete mis-match? Let’s take a closer look…

Aggressive Attacker + Aggressive Attacker = match (very hard to beat)
Aggressive Attacker + Attacking Thinker = match (superb combination)
Aggressive Attacker + Aggressive Defender = mismatch (but has possibilities.)
Aggressive Attacker + Defender Thinker = mismatch. (too many differences)
Attacking Thinker + Aggressive Defender =- match (but need to define their tactics)
Attacking Thinker + Defender Thinker = match (a good understanding is needed here)
Aggressive Defender + Defender Thinker = mismatch (but can win against a poor/disjointed defence)

Each of these combinations has potential to win but this will depend on the style and skills of their opponents.
I see a lot of aggressive defenders and defender thinkers in club level, more than I do aggressive attackers. I don’t know why this is, but it would seem there are many players who like to counter hit rather than attack with intent.

Adapting Your Badminton Style

Having discussed the relative differences in style in earlier articles, one of the key elements in a good badminton player is the ability to adapt. In my opinion, the attacking thinker player is the most adaptable and that’s why they can fit other styles, albeit with a degree of compromise.

You see, sometimes you’re selected for a team and told who you’re playing with. Whilst you’d like to play your game, more often than not you also have to be aware of your partner’s style and skills and adapt to their game in order to win.

You almost have to compromise your game to fit into a partnership. And that’s why some partnerships don’t work. The players are incapable of adapting and gelling together to make a good pair. At times like these, the only thing to do is look elsewhere.

How Do You Design Badminton Tactics?

The first thing you need to do is work out your strengths and weaknesses as a pair. A high degree of honesty and realism is required here because once you’re on court, all of your skills are on display. Despite having a “bad day” you’d be expected to fulfil your role on court without too many surprises for your partner.

Second, you need to agree what is your strongest formation when you’re attacking. This begins to dictate the shots you will play to retain or gain this winning formation.

No surprises to guess that you ask the same questions of your opponents. What is their favoured formation? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Having assessed this information, you design tactics based on moving them away from their favoured formation, focussing on exploiting their weaker areas. By understanding what these weak areas are, you therefore know where to place the shuttle to obtain the response you are looking for.

This means you play shots with INTENT, to cause a desired response. That’s what playing tactically means. So rather than your normal reactive response to a situation that your opponents have caused, you are now being far more direct in what you are trying to achieve, which is to obtain a weak response or error. From this the point is either lost by your opponent or you win from the intended set up.

Let’s look at an example…

You’re playing a mens doubles and you’ve been partnered with a Defensive Thinker style. You’re an Attacking Thinker style. You’re both strong defensively and your best combination is you at the rear court and your partner at the net.

You’re facing an Aggressive Attacker and Defensive Thinker. Their weakest formation is to move the Defensive Thinker away from the net. You certainly don’t want to lift the shuttle to the Aggressive Attacker because this will play to their partnership strengths.

So with this partnership, you decide to lure the Aggressive Attacker forward by taking the pace off the shuttle which they don’t like. Then you get the shuttle behind them to the rear court so that their weakest combination is on show. Your tactics are working. Now you need to pin the Defender Thinker into the corners, keeping his partner out of the game (this will test their mental strength because they can’t hit the shuttle hard).

From this position, whilst you may be defending, you are ready to pick up any loose shots and also quickly change your defence into attack. You may have worked out that if you drive the shuttle back from a smash, your partner immediately moves his base towards the net to counter a block here, therefore pressurising your opponent to lift and provide you with your favoured formation to attack.

As you can imagine, there are too many scenarios to play out here, but you get the idea don’t you? Your analysis of the opponents playing styles, and strengths and weaknesses, in addition to the analysis of your own game, allows you to design the responses you make in order to gain the advantage and take control of the game by adopting your favoured formation.

What To Do Next

Before you go on court with your partner, why not change your approach to the game. Instead of walking on, knocking up and getting on with it, have a serious chat. Work out how to play your best game together and a brief analysis of your opponents.

Design your badminton tactics around the information you share and then play the game from the first point with intent to win points by the design of your shots.

I expect you’ll make a few mistakes getting used to this kind of game. However, I also believe that if you get it right, you will take the game off your opponents and they’ll leave the court wondering what happened.

This concludes my 3 part article designed to improve your tactical awareness on a badminton court. I really hope you’ve found it useful and you continue to develop in this area and surprise your opponents in the future. It’s been fun writing it, and I hope you’ll send in your comments when you’ve tested it to let me know how it’s working for you.

To your success.
Paul

In the first part of this series of articles, you discovered the different styles of badminton player. Some of you emailed me or commented on my blog which style you are and also, which style of player causes you a few problems.

As you can imagine, understanding what style of player your opponent is, and recognising your own style too is only the first stage in discovering the right tactics to beat them.

This second part discusses the key strengths and weaknesses you need to identify to help you plan your opponents defeat.

How Do You Design A Skills Audit?

Whenever you are watching an opponent, you should have a method which means you can quickly find the chinks in their armour and therefore where to get the best results.

But, to do this, you need to make a few notes, whether written or mental. The problem is, where do you begin? Here’s a few ideas for you…

Whether or not you adopt this system is totally up to you. It works, but it’s perfectly fine to use it as a guide and include other aspects I may not touch on here. You have my blessing to play with this… infact, I’ll go one stage further, I challenge you to find a better system and email me explaining the system you’ve created. Hopefully, you won’t mind me sharing this with other readers and of course, you will receive full credit for it.

Paul’s Big 10 Badminton Skills Audit

1)     Basic Skills

Whilst coaches may have different opinions about what we class as basic badminton skills, for me, the key things I look for are grips, basic hitting action and an ability to move. The most important is grip. If I spot my opponent is unable to switch grips quickly and I see backhand shots being hit with a forehand grip, I immediately know how to beat them. If they are poor movers, then this helps me choose the pace of the game and the basic hitting action will tell me whether they have the skills to cause problems.

2)     Rear Court Skills

Again, this is simple. Look for the three main shots, clear, drop and smash. How well are these performed?  Which shot(s) does the player favour, what about hitting from corners? Let’s also remember, that we are covering forehand and backhand here. What happens when the shuttle is behind them and they have little time to play the shot?

3)     Mid-Court Skills

There’s a lot to cover in here. How good are they at basic shots like drives and pushes? What’s their defence like? Where are they particularly strong and weak? Do they prefer to drive, block or lift or are they good enough to use all of these shots? Do they cover body shots well or are they tall and like the shuttle wide so that they can use their tremendous reach? How well do they get down to low shots?

4)     Net Skills

This is a highly skilled area where there is little time to react. Does your opponent prefer to take the shuttle high at the net or low? Are they looking for a kill or nervous and prefer to lift? What happens after the net shot – where does their racquet move to, where do they stand, are they ready to pounce on a loose return? Do they always play straight or cross court? Can they spin the shuttle? Do they stand too close to the net? In mixed where is the player at the front based (do they stand on the T or move to one side)?

5)     Travelling Skills

How fast is my opponent? Are they good at moving backwards, sideways, to deep forehand corner, can they run around their backhand, get down to low shots, cover the net?  Do they tire easily or can they run all day? Again, this information helps to shape tactical decisions as it could be that fitness will play a part in the outcome of the game.

6)     Recovery Skills

It’s fine getting to the shuttle and returning it, but what happens next? Is my opponent a shuttle watcher, admiring their shot or do they recover well to base? In my view, the best exponent of recovery skills is Lin Dan. Need I say any more?

7) Serving Skills

How good is my opponent’s serve? Is it consistent and difficult to return or is it relatively loose? Do they vary the serve in terms of placement and pace? Do they have favourite areas to serve to? Is there one place they never serve to? Do they get a good length on flick serves?
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8)     Receiving Skills

As with serving, there are similar questions. How good are they at returning the serve? Do they aggressively attack, show plenty of variation, back off and place the shuttle, stand close to the service line and open the rear court for a flick? Are they stronger receiving to forehand or backhand side? What do they do with a flick serve?

Last season during a doubles match, I played a tall player who was brilliant at attacking the low serve to his forehand. By experimenting and serving to his backhand side, we got completely different results and a lot of points. So, don’t think that just because they can attack well from one side that they will automatically be good at the other.

9)     Tactical Skills

Some players are very good at playing their game, but find it very difficult to change. They do not read the game very well and therefore are unable to change a response to a given situation. This creates an opportunity for set up and intercept tactics.

Many players are incapable of changing styles to outplay an opponent. They are both tactically and technically weak. Watch out for this as it’s the greatest opportunity for a quick win.

Some players walk on court and you will soon find out that they are playing in a responsive way. This means, they have no tactical plan, but are playing instinctively to given situations. This can present its own problems as there is no pattern to their play. It can also present many opportunities as this allows the tactically minded player to “design” the play, almost to control the responses, therefore opening the weaker areas to exploit.

10) Mental Skills

This is a huge topic but in terms of this particular article here’s what I look for… First of all I’m looking for signs of confidence or nerves, particularly in terms of skills e.g. a nervous server is great to receive against. If I kill the first serve, what happens next time?

How is my opponent responding if I get ahead? Have they the capability to change the game? Do they let their head drop and give up easily or continue to fight for every point? Do they get aggressive on court when they’re losing? Do they lose focus easily and start watching what’s happening on other courts?

What To Do Next

You’re probably thinking right now that you’ll never remember of all of these questions. Relax, they’re a guide. With practice you’ll remember more than you know.

The idea here is to watch and learn. On many occasions, I’ve seen very little of my opponent before I step onto court. I have to watch during the game and it’s amazing how much you do pick up during the rallies, especially how much you remember by either winning or losing the point!

I may get some information in the knock up about rear court skills and an indication that my opponent is a poor mover. After that, I have to wait to see if they serve well and discover during the game how much they vary the serve. Also, how well they receive the serve.

The game helps me build a picture of their skills and their playing style.

So here’s what you can do. Whilst you’re sat down watching a game at your club, why not have a go at watching a player or pair and see how many of these traits you spot. Note some of them down and see if you can design a plan to beat them. Later in the night, see if you can play them and test your theory. Note what went well and what didn’t work.

Give this a go and let me know how you get on. Also, why not do your own skills analysis using yourself as a guinea pig. From this you’ll really begin to understand your strengths and weaknesses.

The big point about analysing yourself is this. You may discover that there is a mis-match between your strengths and your style of play. And, if you prefer the style you play, then this analysis will help you discover what you need to work on in order to improve your style and take it to another level.

In the third and final part of this series, I will be sharing my thoughts on playing as a pair, combining your badminton skills and styles and designing your tactics to outplay your opponent’s styles and skills.

In the meantime, I invite discussion on this article and if you’d like to send me a few scenarios to comment on, I may include them in part 3.

To your success.

Paul

Have you ever played against an opponent you believe you should beat, but never have?

Have you suffered the frustration of knowing you are that close to a momentous win and yet can’t seem to make the breakthrough?

Or, have you walked off court wondering what happened, losing easily to someone you consider you’re as good as, and yet the score suggests a huge gulf in standard of play?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, then this series of articles may be the answer you’re looking for.

So What’s The Secret Skill?

In all standards of play, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, club, league or professional badminton player, you need to understand how to read your opponent, identify their weaknesses and be able to use this information to create a tactical game plan.

So how do you do this?

Here’s a few ideas for you…

In this article, you’ll discover how to understand the bigger picture and then, in the next two articles you’ll hear how to analyse the components of skill and design tactics to expose and capitalise on your opponent’s weakness.

1) Style of play

No doubt you’ve played with and against a number of players. Each player has their own style of play, favourite shots, weaknesses, likes and dislikes.

The aim in this section is to simplify style and help you assess which style you and your opponent fits. Once you understand this, it’s a lot easier to begin building a game plan to beat them. Let’s take a look at the various styles and how to identify them.

Aggressive Attacking

This style of player is easy to identify. They try to attack everything. They like a fast-paced game and favour the big smash to finish off the rally at the earliest opportunity. There’s an almost brawn over brains mentality here although it’s being a little cruel to say this.

When serving to this style of player, they are ready to pounce on any loose shot. They have an aggressive attacking stance, toeing the service line and try to psyche you out and force a loose low serve or flick to allow the big smash return. Have you met this style of player yet? They can be very intimidating.

Attacking Thinker

This style of player is tricky and hard to beat. They can attack well and use a range of well-placed shots to achieve a desired result. They like to mix the pace, searching for openings, work well in a pair to create a weak return. There’s more finesse in their game, using a “whole court” approach to find the gaps in your game.

When serving to this kind of player, you need to pay attention to the variety in return they command. There’s less aggression in their game, preferring the well-placed return to the booming smash. Be on your guard, especially around the net and watch out for push returns. They will still latch on to a poor serve and bury it, however, they lack the aggression on court to send you back on your heels.

This type of player likes a more medium-fast paced game, although they are far more adept at changing the pace to create their openings.

Aggressive Defender

Whilst this term may seem odd, there’s a reason I use it. There are players who like to counter-hit. They like to set up certain situations, specifically to play for a certain return where they can inject pace into their defensive shot creating an unstoppable shot or causing a weak return.

Their defensive capabilities are good and they love to move the shuttle around the court quickly to expose weaknesses or open up a weak return, especially in the rear court.

Serving to this type of player will usually result in fast pushes to the rear court or at the server’s partner in doubles. They like to send an opponent the wrong way, so have developed good deception skills in order to use fast pushes to win points.

This style of player prefers a fast-paced game and they really like to drive the shuttle into the corners to create their openings. They love to hit “through” the attacking net player deep into the rear court.

Defending Thinker

This style of player is good at moving the shuttle around the court, but in a more defensive manner. They are happy to lift the shuttle and then manoeuvre the shuttle to expose the gaps in their opponents attack. Again, they like to use deception to fool their opponents and enjoy a slower pace of game, lifting high into the corners, blocking and pushing returns in order to create their openings.

Serving to this player is certainly less pressure. They tend to stand off the service line, preferring to cover their rear court rather than attack a low serve.

The Complete Player

The complete player is one that is a bit of a chameleon. They can play all four styles, although have a preference in terms of their most comfortable style. They will have weaknesses and some of these styles are almost alien to them, because they are so good at their preferred style of play.

With this type of player, it’s important to recognise the style they favour and either better it or learn to play against it.

Rally Points Scoring System Has Changed The Game – Have You Adapted?

The change in the scoring system for most players brought about a change in their style. In essence, they either adapted or were defeated (Darwen’s law about the survival of the fittest – fitness in these terms meaning adaptable to their surroundings).

The rally point system does not suit the slow starter so much, and certainly in professional arenas the defensive thinker is extinct. Players at this level must be able to adopt all styles and adapt them to their game instantly, choosing the style of return to meet the situation they are in, within a fraction of a second.

In league badminton, especially lower leagues, this is not seen as much. Consequently, matches are won and lost based on which style of player outplays their opponent. The rally point system still favours an attacking player, especially the aggressive attacker, although time and again, it’s the softer shot that finds an opening.

What To Do Next

Take a good look at the players in your club and see if you can work out which style of player they usually fit.

When you’ve completed this task, think about your own game and your preferred style of play. Does it remain the same, or does it change depending on your partner and the opposition? Note your findings.

Having identified these different styles, why not email me, or send your comments advising me what you would do to counter a style you have difficulty playing against. Also explain your style of play and why you believe you’re having problems beating this style of player…this could be very interesting, so come on, join in and let’s learn something together!

I’ve often talked about the short serve in badminton being the most neglected part of the game. It’s an area professional badminton players take very seriously and spend hours working on every week.

So why is it that club and league standard players spend no time at all on this critical part of the game? Why do players in clubs fail to understand the tactical importance of the short serve in badminton?

It baffled me for a while and then I truly understood the answer! You see, the short serve in badminton isn’t exciting like a smash, it’s not a full-on action shot where glory is showered on the player who serves brilliantly in a game.

Or have we all got it so wrong and missed the point?

How often have you walked off court, losing a match and then complained that your partner’s serve was rubbish “they just couldn’t get the shuttle over the net or in the court.” Or worse, every time they serve, your opponent buried it! You’ll then admit that you can’t win, if you can’t serve.

And you’d be absolutely right.

We’ve all said this quote at some time or other, whether we’re blaming our partner or ourselves. So now we’ve agreed how critically important it is to serve well, shouldn’t we at least acknowledge a player who consistently served tight in a game?

In my opinion, this player should be seen in the same light as the player with the big smash. After all, they are consistently delivering a tight serve in the most tense period of the game, when literally the match could depend on their skill to keep the shuttle low and in the court. At 20-20, you have to agree that the serve is the biggest pressure shot in the game, especially when serving to a player who is ready to pounce on anything remotely loose.

In this scenario, the serve has got to be the most exciting, the most nerve-wracking shot to deliver because it can be a game winner, a match winner, or even a tournament winner! In my book, that beats the big smash and demonstrates a high degree of skill.

So why do we still choose to dismiss its importance?

I think the key here is finding ways to practice the serve that give it an edge, a higher level of importance and severe consequences if you fail to get it right.

Here’s a couple of technical practice ideas and one tactical practice idea for you…

1)      Target serving – get your team take part and split them into 2 teams playing against each other. Each player has to serve to a designated target (e.g. a tube or shuttles or empty box) placed near the T. Each player has 6 shuttles and count how many they get in the box. The loosing team buys the drinks or some other forfeit you decide on.

2)      In your teams again – one is the attacking team, and the other the serving team. Choose one player from each team to go on court. You have 6 shuttles. Server serves from right court and must serve low serves. They can serve to anywhere along the service line but they are not allowed to flick serve. The attacking player can toe the service line. The attacking player wins a point if they can pounce on the serve and put it on the floor or the serve is out. The server wins a point when the player fails to return the serve over the net, misses it completely and it lands in and if they fail to bury the shuttle for a winner. Returns to the net or a push score points to the server. Again, have a forfeit for the losing team. Reverse the roles so each team has a go at serving and receiving.

3)      To improve your tactical awareness, work together to watch for weaknesses in a player. Work in pairs. Your teammate is the guinea pig here. They need to create 6 different scenarios which could lead to potential weakness e.g. receive on non-racket leg, racket too low (don’t make it too obvious), racket slightly wide to the right, forehand grip to name a few. Ask the server serve tactically this time. Once the serve has been struck, ask what they noticed and what they changed. If your teammate didn’t know the answer, try again. If they still don’t know, show them.

You’ve now been given three practices, two to help you improve your serve from a technical viewpoint and the final exercise from a tactical view.

If you work on these exercises on a frequent basis, then you will soon notice a huge difference in the results you are getting. Your serves will be significantly better which will lead to an improvement in confidence. Because you are now serving tactically, you’ll also recognise that you have changed and are serving to win a point and not to begin a rally.

Having already posted my views from 11th March, I think it’s only fitting to highlight some of the finer points of these championships from my visit on 12th and 13th March. Sadly I wasn’t able to go to the finals this year but will comment briefly on them.

Friday 12th March 2010 –  Quarter Finals

Peter Gade vs Taufik Hidayat - Quarter Final

There were so many great games to watch. Peter Gade versus Taufik Hidayat. A fantastic display of singles with Taufik looking to be in the driving seat. The quality of net play was astonishing. Major hint here – the net area is a vital strategic position to hold. Being poor in this area will cost you dearly. It was a shame that almost the last point in this match was lost on a poor line call against Taufik although Gade had one called against him only moments before which was on the line. Some would say that’s justice.

What was a little sad about this match was that it’s probably the last chance we’ll get to see these two badminton greats in action in Birmingham. I don’t believe Gade or Hidayat will be playing this tournament next year.

The singles sensation for me was unseeded Kenichi Tago from Japan. His win over Persson from Denmark on 11th was unexpected, but he played so well. And then he outplays the great Chen Jin from China in a mammoth 3 game match. Absolute quality and certainly one of the performances of the tournament. His overall court coverage was superb, lovely net play and a jump smash with his Z Slash was awesome. His showed a remarkable level of fitness to win in 3 games again.

Lee Chong Wei displayed a level of quality which I’ve rarely seen in him. Consistency was superb and this time he had the patience and determination to stick to his game plan (another hint, you need one of these to win).

Let’s not forget the other big shock of the tournament. Lin Dan lost to Bao Chunlai in a 3 game match. We all thought it was a set up with Chunlai winning the first game, Lin Dan levelling it and then we expected a close third with Lin Dan winning. Even on match point we thought Lin Dan would win – such was our belief that the great Lin Dan would be in the final. But Lin Dan was struggling coping with the height of Chunlai and the angles he was hitting from his overhead smashes and drop shots. Chunlai seemed to find ways to expose Lin Dan’s backhand more than anyone I’ve seen before. I’m sure the constant changing of pace was a deciding factor here.

In mixed doubles we saw both British pairs falling. Robertson, as usual, had something to say about losing although he did have a point about the line call on this occasion. That said, his constant taking time in between rallies was a joke. Yes, lots of players were doing it, but he and Wallwork were milking it. The almost blatant ignoring of the umpire was a disgrace and I hope umpires are given the authority to stamp this out. What happenend to the “play must be continuous” rule?

Onto Clarke and Olver. Personally, I believe Clarke is one of the most skillful players in the world today. Sadly his fitness does not match his skill. Also, I feel he got the short end of the stick in getting Olver as a partner and he should have been given Wallwork. That was a timing issue more than anything as Gail Emms retired before Kellogg. Olver has promise although no court presence yet. I also believe Clarke is trying to take too much of the action to cover for Olver which is leaving gaps for opponents to exploit. I wish them well as a pair and hope Olver blossoms with experience. This tournament certainly will help her develop.

Boe & Mogenson vs Cai & Fu - Quarter Final 2010

Onto mens doubles. The best two matches featured the Danes. The big win had to be Boe and Mogenson against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. Not only a brilliant match, but possibly the Danes greatest performance. Cai Yun was so mad at losing he threw his racket into the ceiling, landing somewhere in the audience and then kicked his bag and rackets – not very sporting!

Paaske and Rasmussen also provided us with a brilliant match Malaysia’s Gan Tek Chai and Tan Bin Shen. This was tactics mastery at its best! Nobody gave the Danes much chance although acknowledged their experience. Having beaten the No 1 seeds in first round, something special was happening here – we just didn’t know what at the time.

Whilst I’m not commenting much on ladies singles, doubles and mixed here, I have to say that the matches were superb, fantastic play, breathtaking reflexes and very long rallies. I finally got to see Juliane Schenk on court. She was playing India’s Saina Nehwal. Nehwal was just too strong for Schenk on this occasion and I must confess I thought that Schenk seemed to run out of ideas and steam against this relentless machine of clears and drops.

Semi Finals

Usually semi fnals give us the best games of the tournament but not on this occasion.

Lee Chong Wei disposed on Gade in two games which I think most people would have predicted. The big upset in singles was Japan’s Tago beating Lin Dan’s victor Bao Chunlai. Another fantastic game and a deserved place in the final for this tenacious Japanese dynamite.

Tine Rasmussen demonstrated supreme confidence and a better fighting spirit this year to win her place in the final. Yet again I watched Chinese ladies singles and doubles play it out to the end with most matches going to 3 games. The Chinese could not be challenged about match fixing having watched the matches this year, otherwise I’m sure results would have been different.

Paaske & Rasmussen vs Kido & Setiawan

The scrappy match of the day had to be Paaske and Rasmussen versus Setiawan and Kido. An easy first game for the Indonesians and seemingly moving easily towards a place in the final. Suddenly Kido was called for a service fault and then a second. This completely changed the match and the experienced Danes came back from a huge deficit to take the second game, mainly from mistakes from Kido. This continued in the third game with Kido only showing flashes of brilliance. The Danes played another superb tactical game and deserved to win, albeit marginally. Setiawan played outstanding badminton showing why he is such a fantastic tactician and mover of the shuttle. The angles he found on that court were amazing.

I missed the other mens doubles between Boe and Mogenson and Lee and Jung. I heard Lee had a very heavily strapped arm which may have accounted for their demise. Not taking anything away from the Danes who I thought had been superb in the tournament and are fast becoming favourites of mine.

Finals

I wasn’t able to go to the finals this year and couldn’t watch on TV so my comments will be brief.

Lee Chong Wei vs Kenichi Tago

I expected Lee Chong Wei to win and I’m delighted the scoreline reflected a good final. Tago has been my big find in this tournament and I hope he wins one of the big Super Series Events this year – he deserves to if he retains this form.

I’m thrilled for Tine Rasmussen to come back from injury to win this tournament. There seems to be so little threat to Chinese dominance at the moment so this really was a great win. I do wonder what would have happened if her opponent Wang Yihan, hadn’t had such a tough semi final against a fellow Chinese. It was nice that this repeat final went the other way this year in the Danes favour.

Ladies Doubles – who can stop the awesome Du Jing and Yu Yang? They are an absolute delight to watch. Their overall game is too strong for most ladies combinations at the moment. Fantastic pair to watch! Thank you ladies for continuing to show us all how good ladies doubles can be.

In mixed doubles there was another shock. Most of us expected Widianto and Natsir to overcome the new super Chinese pair of Zhang and Zhao bearing in mind their titles won to date and experience of playing and winning big tournament. But the Chinese pair played an outstanding game to come out on top.

Last, but by no means least was the all Danish mens doubles. A thiller and fitting end to this Centenery All England. Very few would have bet on the eventual winners Paaske and Rasmussen. I think Boe and Mogenson peaked too early in their win over Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. The older Danes have weathered this tournament incredibly well and that’s what makes champions.

Summary

Congratulations to all finalists and winners. These have probably been some of the best finals in years with all but mens singles going to 3 games.

For me, I came away from Birmingham with a lot of ideas to help improve the players I work with. The big reminders for me were the following:

1) The serve is still the most critical part of a rally

2) Play around the net is getting tighter every year

3) If you want to win in doubles, learn to defend

4) Even a big gun smash will be returned easily. Smashes are a tactical move to get a weaker response.

5) You’ve got to be mentally strong to succeed as the pressure to win a point gets harder. You’ve also got to understand tactics to win.

That’s it for this year. I hope you enjoyed my review of the tournament – one of the best I’ve even been to.

To your success

Paul