Yonex BWF World Championships 2011 - Day 1 update

A very pleasing day for India.

Ajay Jayaram upset the 15th seed Kenichi Tago. He was out of the blocks fast and wrapped the match up in 2 games in 40 mins. Kenichi started slow and seemed lethargic but all credit to Ajay for keeping him under pressure for most of the game. Towards the end of game 2 it looked like Kenichi was just getting into rhythm but Ajay held on, albeit nervously, to clinch a fantastic win.

That set the tone for the Indians. In the next match, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made quick work of the American pair in 23 mins.

The next match was experience and suave versus youth and power. It took 3 games and all of 53 mins for Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas to overcome their opponents. They lost the first game in quick time at 9 but then rebounded really well to take the next two with well thought out tactics and strategy.

The day however belonged to Kevin Cordon from Guatemala who upset the 5th seed Chinese Chen Long. It was an amazing match and Kevin showed great heart in staying in the match and wrapping it up 21-19 8-21 27-25 in 1 hr and 15 mins. One of the best matches I have seen in a long time! Go Kevin!

YONEX BWF World Badminton Championships - India's chances

The World Badminton Championships will be held in London between 8-Aug-11 to 14-Aug-11.

Saina Nehwal has been seeded 6th. Here are my predictions for her possible opponents in the rounds.

Round 1 - Bye
Round 2 - Adrianti Firdasari (should win this)
Round 3 - Yip Pui Yin (14th seed) (should win this)
Quarterfinals - Wang Xin (3rd seed) (tough, but possible - should try to close it in 2 games. Any more and she will be playing to Wang's strength)
Semifinals - Wang Yihan (2nd seed) (will depend on fitness and length of earlier matches)
Finals - Wang Shixian (Top seed) (will depend on fitness and length of earlier matches)

Here is Parupalli Kashyap's draw. I think it will be great if he can make it out of Round 2. His possible opponents.

Round 1 - Dieter Domke (should win this)
Round 2 - Tien Minh Nguyen (7th seed) (tough)
Round 3 - Boonsak Ponsana (10th seed) (very tough)
Quarterfinals - Peter Hoeg Gade (3rd seed) (impossible! lets stop here!)

In the Mens doubles Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas also have a tough draw and they would do great to cross Round 2.

In the Womens doubles Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa would create waves in Badminton circles if they can cross Round 2 where they unfortunately face the 2nd seeds.

In the mixed doubles 16th seeds Diju Valiyaveetil and Jwala Gutta should do well to cross Round 3 where they meet the 5th seeds.

Fastest racquet sport?

Badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world. A shuttlecock can travel up to 200 mph. Fu Haifeng of China set the official record of the fastest badminton shuttlecock speed at about 206 mph. That's an incredible 92.1 m/s or 332 km/h.

So a badminton shuttlecock can travel faster than a Eurostar train at its maximum in-service speed of 83.3 m/s (186.4 mph).

Comparison with other sports -

• Cricket - Fastest ball clocked at 161 km/h
• Ice Hockey - Fastest hockey puck clocked at 191.5 km/h
• Tennis - Fastest serve clocked at 251 km/h

Difference between feathered and synthetic shuttlecocks

If you leave out the durability factor that is the obvious reason for synthetic (aka plastic) shuttlecocks' existence, following are some more differences between the two -

1. synthetic shuttlecocks fly more slowly on initial impact with the racquet, but slow down less towards the end of their flight compared with feather shuttlecocks that fly a lot faster on initial contact but slow down faster as they drop
2. on the clear shot feather shuttlecocks drop straight down, whereas the synthetic shuttlecocks never quite return to a straight drop falling more on a diagonal

What is the right age to start Badminton?

I started taking my son along with me when I play Badminton and he developed an immediate interest. He will complete 4 years this September and that got me thinking what the right age to start playing Badminton is.

There is a coaching class for kids right before our slot and I checked with the coach if he would admit my son. He mentioned the minimum age for enrollment was 6 years!

I am sure I remember reading somewhere that Maria Sharapova started playing Tennis at the age of 4 years! I am also sure some of the other greats in their games started really early.

So then, what age is right to start Badminton or any other sport for that matter? Is there a difference between how we Indians approach sports and the other nations do?

Use the right shoes when playing Badminton

I write from experience. After a couple of weeks I developed pain in my heels. I was using a pair of "sports" shoes and not shoes made specifically for Badminton. After I switched to Badminton shoes I am doing fine!

In Badminton, you will be doing a lot of pivoting and fast movement, so you don't want to slip and need shoes that provide excellent grip. Also ensure that your Badminton shoes are used exclusively for Badminton. Do not use them for other sports.

Get the shoes from your local sporting-goods store and not from a shoe shop. Ideally, Yonex made or a similar brand recognized in the Badminton world.

One last thing, do not buy shoes with black soles. Black soles can leave scuff marks on the court.

Badminton courts in Pune

How many places are there to play Badminton in Pune? I am looking to create a list of all places where courts are available on hire in Pune. A quick search yielded the following -

1. Balewadi Sports Complex
2. College of Engineering Pune
3. Happy Colony Community Hall
4. Heerabaug Sports Complex
5. Maharashtra Mandal Badminton Hall
6. Mahila Mandal Badminton Hall
7. Laxmi Krida Mandir
8. PDMBA
9. Deccan Gymkhana 
10. Poona Club
11. PYC
12. Modern Complex
13. Kataria High School

Let me know others that I have missed out. I would eventually like to add # of courts available at these locations along with their charges.