triam Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Nice article in espn.com although not so nice with the reference to India. And I agree with the underrated sports, especially badminton, having played at a decently high level, I know it is a very physically demanding sport although it gets no respect, worse yet it is considered as a pansy sport by most of the people. Mods: can move it to other sports if needed, I just thot posting here more people will see it.
Holysmoke Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3523021
Lurker Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Thanks for the link Holy. Nice article in espn.com although not so nice with the reference to India. And I agree with the underrated sports' date= especially badminton, having played at a decently high level, I know it is a very physically demanding sport although it gets no respect, worse yet it is considered as a pansy sport by most of the people. Mods: can move it to other sports if needed, I just thot posting here more people will see it. Triam, what level of badminton did you play at?? And I disagree with you that it is considered a pansy sport. It is definitely not considered one of the more glamorous sports but it is quite widely followed. In my experience most young folks(atleast on Eastern side of India) play as much badminton, volleyball, table tennis, carrom as they play cricket. Heck thats what I did in my school/college days - cricket on weekend, volleyball/badminton in the evenings, carrom and table tennis when it was too hot to get out.
triam Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 I was in the fringes of making the national team in India only doubles, played for my state (TN) , never made it though, I still am pretty competitive in the US, ranked somewhere in the top 25 (although the level in the us is not comparable to India). When I said it is considered pansy, I didnt mean it in India or most Asian countries, but more in the western world.
Lurker Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Thats pretty decent level. Good to hear that you are still into the game. Yes badminton is not quite as popular in Western hemisphere(apart from Denmark, Sweden, to an extent UK) but that may very well be due to certain sports being more popular in certain countries/region. Badminton is a hugely fun game and most importantly can be played practically anywhere. Still remember putting a wire on my terrace, cover with Mom's saree that acted as a net of sorts.
triam Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 Even in India, when I was playing most of my uncles and aunts etc used to make fun of me calling badminton a 'girls sport' etc. Actually it is a pretty easy to get deceived that badminton is an easy sport unless you have actually played it, the strain it puts in your muscles and joints are something you have to experience to realize the truth. So if someone has never played badminton their first tendency is to think of it as a backyard sport and not really physically challenging.
Lurker Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Even in India, when I was playing most of my uncles and aunts etc used to make fun of me calling badminton a 'girls sport' etc. Actually it is a pretty easy to get deceived that badminton is an easy sport unless you have actually played it, the strain it puts in your muscles and joints are something you have to experience to realize the truth. So if someone has never played badminton their first tendency is to think of it as a backyard sport and not really physically challenging. I am surprised you had that experience. To an extent I can probably understand it since badminton can be played atleast on a very basic level by even the most unsporting of people. I mean it is easy to walk to the park and see two 6 year olds just hitting a shuttle trying to do a rally but that is the extent of its ease. The moment you start playing it becomes as serious as any other sport really. Partially the decline has coincided with growth of cricket, as has decline of many other games really. The other day I had mentioned about lawn tennis. In badminton we had a pretty solid pedigree till a few decades but now its almost a blip.
triam Posted August 8, 2008 Author Posted August 8, 2008 Cricket is one thing, the other is a big exodus, most badminton players I knew were also professionals (engg etc), so they are in the us, i meet so many ex national players and state players from India in tournaments around US, guys who should be in their peak now are in the USA working in IT and playing part time. One of my practice partners is Vincent Lobo (he was ranked as high as 20's in the world a few years back), now he is in the US (ranked in the top 5) working for SAP and he is only 30, I have met quite a few of these people.
Lurker Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 One of my practice partners is Vincent Lobo (he was ranked as high as 20's in the world a few years back), now he is in the US (ranked in the top 5) working for SAP and he is only 30, I have met quite a few of these people. Oh I know of Vincent Lobo, he was quite highly ranked. Good to hear that you work with some of the erstwhile players. Your point about badminton players being professional is well taken. I have heard that quite a bit over the years.
CC1981 Posted August 8, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Good thread. I used to play a considerable amount of badminton throghout my teen years and even now, i can weild a wicked racket.(Though my diminished eyesight is obviously a huge let down). I played tennis pretty seriously and i played it first, but badminton was insanely fun to play. Triam is right- it does seem like a panzy sport, especially when you see the rank amatuers. But playing it even at a semi-serious level is seriously challenging. Tennis and badminton are two very different skill sets actually. While Tennis favours pure stamina a lot more with raw power, badminton is all about explosiveness and high intensity anerobic workout. Its a much quicker game in a sense that half the time you arnt running but jumping, bending, twisting, lunging etc, all the while, maintaining a real high intensity of focus. Serious badminton is actually a very fun game but very demanding on the body's litheness.And i consider the starting line for serious players to be the ones who do the 'trickle over the net serve and are furious smashers'. IMO the thing that sucks the most about badminton though is that it NEEDS an enclosed space and is seriously anti-oudoors. A half-hineyed gust of wind and the shuttle is completely irrecoverable.
triam Posted August 9, 2008 Author Posted August 9, 2008 Hey Lurker Did you also play at a serious level in badminton?
Lurker Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 No Triam. I am, well used to be, an avid badminton guy(or baddie as we called it) but never progressed at a high enough level. Most of my pleasant memories of the game are at my college where we had a badminton court between two hostels. There were other badminton courts as well but this one in partcular was made in such a way that it was completely covered on 3 sides by 4 storied building thus effectively cutting wind factor. The 4th(and open side) ensured enough light, although we also had vapour lamps. Almost every evening was spent playing a game or two of badminton and volleyball. Incidentally amongst the hostel living students in India badminton, TT, volleyball are as popular as cricket is. Part of the popularity is due to the fact that the former games can be played during the evening/night as well with some cheap high power bulbs. Nothing better than breaking a sweat from badminton and then having a nice sumptuous dinner.
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