All England Opinion

[Michael Banks]

After watching the final stages of the All England I have to say that the void between the Asian countries and the Europeans is getting wider and wider. Apart from the one or two Danes, the Europeans are lagging further and further behind. The English especially look weak.

Two other comments on the All England. The atmosphere was lacking quite in quite a lot of the sessions and the number and quality of the stalls was poor. The major disappointment was the scoring from a spectator point of view. I like a good game of mixed and the scoring to eleven finished the game often before it had started which can only be bad for the game. On the positive side, the standard was excellent and TV coverage on Sky very good. Not sure Steve Butler is a natural in the commentary box but Gill Clark was as good as ever.

[RichNorman]

No doubt that the Standard was high. What can we do to stop the Chinese? All 4 Ladies singles semi finalists, 2 Mens Singles semi finalists and all the finalists in the Ladies and Mixed doubles finals!

Player of the tournament: GAO Ling
Simply awesome. Dispatching Rikke Olson in the Ladies Doubles semi 'love' and love'. Ouch!

Pair of the tournament: Sigit (Budiarto)and Candra (Wijaya).
The most solid defence. Fantastic speed. Cruised the final against Lee and Yoo.

Game of the tournament: 1st set of CHEN Hong's and the elder (Roslin) Rashim brother's singles semi. About 45-50mins with game points both ways.

[rachyuk]

I enjoyed the mens singles more this year than in previous years.

Lots of personality coming through in the players expressions and gestures. It was nice to see.

I particularly liked watching the Hashim brothers, they didn't look as 'built' as the other men, but so deceptive and onto the attack with just as much speed. I look forward to seeing them winning more!!

[terrylate]

Looking at the english players,apart from our boy Smithy, the rest just don't play a world class game of singles. Unfortunately it seems Smith is as erratic as a bull in a china shop!!! However the inconsistency i'm sure will come with age/experience (touching wood). Any thoughts?

[Pglews]

Smith should be encouraged, from what I heard he was sort of exorcised from the England group, because he was playing loads of international tournaments at a young age and not supporting the under19 tournaments in England.
His improvement has been absolutely rapid and more power to him. One thing that I did find a little disconcerting was that on the World Championships qualifiers, he is third in line (i.e. can be selected) but hasn't been, where as Colin Haughton and Aamir Ghaffar have been straight away. Fair enough, because they have higher rankings...is this because England aren't sure whether they should send Burgess or Smith?

[RichNorman]

Burge isn't exactly 'in' with the England set up either. Apparently he is too old now and so not worth the BAofE's effort. Not sure who they consider to be next in line. I would have thought that performance and potential wise they would have to select Smith.

[gsk]

Badminton will continue to have a very good future in Europe :

Having watched the AE on TV over 2 decades,I'm really amazed by the turnout in the stadium and the crowd's appreciation for badminton.In Asia crowds only pay to watch when their national plyers are playing and most of
the crowd do not really appreciate badminton,they resemble more football fanatics.I think Europe is the only place in the world where hosts can make ends meet,maybe that explains reluctance to give more free coverage.

[paulclarkson]

Carrying on from Richards response, I believe England should send Smith to the World Championships. The tournament needs as many young English players as possible. This will give Smith good experience at the highest level and having seen him at the Nationals three weeks ago, he is the best potential world class player we have.

[khaw]

It is crystal clear why our boys and girls are not doing well in the All England Championships. They lack speed, stamina and accuracy. Last year I took my protege, Eleanorv Cox (16 years) to Malaysia for further training at my expense. She trained in the same academy as the Hashim brothers, Roslin and Hafiz (20 years won the Gold Medal in the Commonwealth Games and won the All England men's singles title). Although I train Eleanor personally 6 times a week, I strongly believe that the more she learns from other top coaches, the better she will become. Her home and International results proved my point. She even played a game against the Hashim brothers and managed to get a point from each of them. Can you see our top men playing against any 16 years old girl? Eleanor had been training in Malaysia 3 times, in 1998, 2001 and 2002. She is now aware of the humidity factor playing in the tropics, the different flight of the shuttlecock, and the different conditions of the badminton courts in that part of the world; not to mention the different food and culture. The experience she gained is impense to prepare her for the future playing in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

I have found a race horse in England to win the Oaks for the country in 2 or 3 years time. What Eleanor needs is encouragement, every support she can get and all the help she can find. Being from a single parent family, I am now like her father, coach and guardian.

The point I am trying to make is why are the Asians so quick on court and have tons of energy. Simple answer, they don't drink alcoholic drinks, they don't go to parties, they lead a very boring life without boy friend or girl friend. "Every thing" is locked up until the major badminton game is over. They have better and longer preparation for Tournaments and not just one week or 2 weeks Summer camp. For your information, they train from 4.00 am to 12.00 noon and from 2.00 pm to 7.00 pm, 6 days a week. The training is intense, every one is totally forcused - they trained until they collapsed or sprawled on the court - that is why they are so fit. Look at our SAS. Why are they so good - one of the best if not the best in the world - hard training is the answer.

But at the end of the day we must have the right material and that is what it counts. It is no good getting a few burly cart horses in the hope that we might win the Derby or the Oaks. It is said, "It is no good flogging a dead horse."

Please let us wake up - "Seek and ye shall find."

[johng]

Interesting points benny, however........what will be the situation in say 2 years time when Eleanor is 18...and boys become more of an interest

Will she still want to trainhard for 10 hours a day 6 days a week....and lose contact with her friends, and what happens if she does not make the grade, what happens to her then.

However much we love this game, we must never lose sight that it is only one aspect of life.....Eleanors playing career will be short indeed....especially after the demands placed on her body by the training and playing..how prepared will she be for everyday life...and earning her living...sure top flight coaching is a possibility...but there are not many opportunities.

As coaches we certainly have a responsibility to our charges..to help them reach their full potential....but we also have a responsibility to ensure that they are fully prepared for life after badminton

If I may also add an aside to this point............Is there really much difference to the Chinese, Indonisian and Korean training regimes...to that employed by the communist regimes of USSR and East Germany, strange how we are attempting to follow the former, but were scathing of the latter

[pkho]

John, in response to your comparison about whether there is much difference between the Asian system and the old communist system. Well, yes, the players have the choice to not train as it is still a "free" country. What is definitely different between Asia and the Western world is that the players are rewarded and revered as heroes (hence the incentive to be the best). Here, we don't get the kind of money for being the best as compared to other sports. We play for the love of the game. If Eleanor is serious about her commitment, I am sure that she will do well. You are right that the sport is still one aspect of life and it is up to Eleanor to decide as it is her life.

[badmintongroupie]

I agree with John with regard to thinking ahead when it comes to pursuing a full-time career in badminton.

However talented a youngster maybe, he/she has to stop and think of a future without badminton. It takes only one serious injury to end it all! There is no serious money to be made in badminton - most top players in England play because they love the game.

In this country it is almost essential to go to university in order to be able to secure a job. And any 16 year old who has the intellect and ability would probably go down that track.

In the Far East, there are hundreds of youngsters trying to make the grade as a top athlete since it offers an opportunity to travel and raise their standard of living. And how many thousands of youngsters are sacrificed to produce one champion? What happens to the ones who don't make the grade?


But all is not lost, there are 5 ladies in the Engalnd squad who are graduates. Instead of training full-time from age 16/18 they combined studies and training (very hard work) and started their full-time career at 21/22. If all goes well their playing career could last until they are in their thirties. Broadly - compare this with far Eastern players who peak at 20/21 and are finished by their mid twenties.

It's horses for courses!

[Martin Dew-Hattens]

I might have said this before but it won't hurt doing it again.

Over the years there have been many graduates. Baddeley, myself, for example. Both of us did a degree whilst we were playing and I continued to do a Ph.D. In fact the Ph.D gave me the greatest freedom since most of it was private study and could be done in any airport, hotel or badminton hall. OK - so I was a bit boring and had to work instead of party but it paid off.

Even in Denmark players there are three top players in the throws of becoming medical doctors!!

Its really about comittement and flexibility. If the BA would only put some training sessions outside core University hours then they would recover many players who choose to opt out.

Look at the options

a) Play badminton for 10 years and have a great time. Become a taxi driver afterwards. or

b) Play badminton for 10 years have a great time but use a bit more on study.
Become a doctor or financial wizard after.

No choice really!!

So come on Steve(I know you read these pages even though you don't register) - remember those late afternoons at Wimbeldon or MK. Get your coaching staff to see sense.

Yours sincerely

Martin Dew-Hattens B.Sc(first class), Ph.D

[khaw]

John,

I am glad you asked about Eleanor's education. She is a very bright and intelligent girl. She obtained 3 As in English, Mats and History and 5 Bs in other subjects. Currently, she is attending a College doing AS level in English, Modern History, Politics and Government. I am glad to say, she has 2 strings on her bow.

As far as boy friend is concerned, she is cute enough to be friendly to a few of the boys in the England squad when they travel abroad and that is as far as it goes. When she is at home, she does not go out at night or to any parties. She is fully aware of the pitfall. Nobody stops her from going out at night or to parties, she knows in her heart that she has to scacrifice all these distractions if she wants to succeed in her badminton and get to the top. There is no ifs and buts and any excuses - just simpily self-determination, 100% committment and all the sacrifices. I must say I am very impressed with her management of time when it comes to her badminton training and her studies and homework. For your information, as her guardian, I also teach her how to cook healthy food and she is a very good learneras well. She is now doing her own cooking during her college lunch break and cooking her own dinner.

As I have said in the past, I have been coaching badminton at the Wimbledon Club for 35 years, I have not come across any child like Eleanor who is so determined, self-displined and forcused when she plays in any tournament. Even the current Malaysian chief coach, Misbun Sedik said that it would not take Eleanor long before she gets to the top when he was training her in Malaysia in July-August 2002.

Eleanor has already planned to have a boy friend when she reaches the age of 28 or 29. Everything is under lock and key until then. Tough luck boys - you have to look elsewhere.

[redkingjoe]

Look at the options
a) Play badminton for 10 years and have a great time. Become a taxi driver afterwards. or
b) Play badminton for 10 years have a great time but use a bit more on study.
Become a doctor or financial wizard after.
Martin Dew-Hattens B.Sc(first class), Ph.D

These are the reasons for the death of junior badminton in Hong Kong. Most of the top players in U12 use "badminton" as a means to get into famous high school which in turn turns them into Med doc or financial whatever in the future.
The "badminton pro" nowadays in HK is mainly feeded by mainland china and not from the junior.