Hi Steemians,
Today I would like to share with you all what I think is one of the most underrated sports in the West (excluding some parts of Europe).
For those who have only experienced garden badminton before, here is a short clip showing what competitive badminton is really like.
Credit: Shuttle flash Youtube
Power
The fastest badminton smash in the world achieved by a singles player was Lee Chong Wei in 2017, Japanese Open in an intense match against then number 1 Victor Axleson of 417 km/h. (Retarded units: 259.112mph). In comparison, the fastest tennis shot 263.4 km/h, only around half of that of badminton.
Endurance
This video below explains it all.
Credit: Badminstep
Unlike other sports such as football, rugby, or basketball, in badminton on a competitive level players are forced to move on a sprinting speed for the whole duration of the match. Also, players must constantly change directions while following a footing pattern to achieve maximum speed. This is not seen in any other sport (Correct me if I am wrong). Badminton matches can last up to an hour, so to truly experience this yourself, try sprinting suicides for that long. Tennis averages at 3 shots per rally, while badminton averages 14 shots.
Technique
Here are some of the most basic skills required.
Defensive high clear
Drop shots
Smashes
Net play
Backhand
Seems easy? Let me tell you that each of these 4 main areas each have more than 4 different variations each, and I have not yet included defense such as diving etc.
It takes years of training to master even half of all these skills.
Underrated?
No! At least in Asia, Denmark, England and some other parts of the world. Here in China, it leads football and basketball to be one of the most popular sports! Some surveys have noted it is even more popular than our national sport, table tennis.
However, in America, it is a much different story.
Credit: Hebrew Hammer
No questions, in some communities badminton is considered a legitimate competitive sport. However, in much of America, it has yet to enter the mainstream. I believe this is because the majority of media attention is focused on tennis and how the majority of citizens have only experienced badminton in the backyard. What do you think? Answer in the comments below.
My other post:
https://steemit.com/upfundme/@houwang/teamcuboid-botball-2018-china-regional-championship-crowdfunding-day-2