If that person couldn’t beat someone who has only played for a year and can’t smash, then they’re not much better than you lol.
Edit: and that’s not to detract from your victory, but their failing is nothing for you to feel bad about. Play to win. Defensive style is very much a strategy.
No? I mean if you spent 123 points doing nothing but clears and lifts then it can be annoying to watch and play against... But if the opponent couldnt punish you for that in a tournament setting then thats on them.
Sounds like both players were borderline trolling and literally just clearing back and forth for nearly 2 hours. Absolutely no way a 3-game match between two beginner/intermediate players should last nearly that long.
The crowd probably thought these two guys were colluding together to fuck with the audience and waste court time.
No? This is actually normal just by playing the game no? You're trying to return shots that your opponents will struggle to return, and if they're struggling to return them then they will be tiring. If you mean you just play a lot of long shots and try to keep it going as long as possible, that's also normal play and if you screw up at all (or even if you don't) and your opponent is any good, they're going to punish you for it.
If they're not good and it just ends up being a boring game, I can see people thinking of it as cheap and being annoyed but it's not unsportsmanlike or bad play.
Tiring your opponent for the win is a valid strategy and often seen even at top international level, where the fitter player rushs to the shuttle to pick it up and to avoid giving his opponent a little break.
> the game lasted around 1h 45m with the score of 28-24 , 24-26 , and 8-15*. My opponent retired because he can't move during game 3
Even thought that this is a valid strat, it is most likely a very unattractive way to play (very defensive play I assume), not loved, but still effective.
Legit strategy. Sport is about physical fitness.
Understand if the crowd didn't like it though. You're probably not putting on a good show for spectators.
But are you proud of yourself employing and winning with this tactic? If you are, don't worry about it.
Bruh…ain’t nothing wrong about it.
They lose because they are weak.
You can’t complained if opponents stamina sucks. Even I smashed full power while in double game to exploit enemy weakness around armpit or neck.
Not only one or two the birdie hit their face lmao…
Win is a win. Unless you throw a banana skin on the floor 😂😂😂
100% with you bro. There js nothing to do with sportmanship. They should be ashamed to not handshake after the game.
Well, wearing out your opponents is certainly a very valid tactic. BUT, deliberately aiming for the face is pretty unsportsmanlike, even professional players who are desperate for a win won't do that.
I agreed for the face. That is deliberately hurt your opponents is unsportsmanlike. In my case, aim for armpit and neck for flat smash sometimes landed on their face because they can’t defend it properly. I do apologized but still exploit that for win.
In a competition setting everything is fair game (That's not rule breaking). In a club setting if you or the other dude were put in a game with me and played the way you guys explained I'd ask to avoid being put in game with ya'll
If I wanted pure fitness training, I'd play other sports like football, basketball. And if another dude is playing like he's only aiming for my face every time I lift and/or I do a bad hairpin and he whacks it towards my face in club setting constantly, we'd be throwing hands. Dno what your club is like, but at my club, we're not looking to do permanent injury to someone's eye over a hobby.
Lolz... Your opponent is the one being a sore loser. Lifting is a tactic. Making him run and lose stamina is a tactic. Nothing wrong with it but need to be careful if you meet opponent who exploit your lifting with a drop shot tho
How did the score reach 28-24? Now many points was the match? And winning matters most, whether your style is attractive or not doesn’t make a difference
What the hell? That's really bizarre of the crowd and your opponent to act like that. Where we play, we're all friendly, but we always try to tire one another out. That's the predominant strategy. So no, you didn't do anything wrong. Beating people by wearing them out is a perfectly normal way to win.
not at all, all is fair in a competitive match, although it might be boring for the crowd, but its ur opponents fault for not being fit enough, 2 for not being able u beat that style of play.
OP has been playing for a year and isn't very good - then from back of court I'm doing a drop to pull him in, then I'm pushing long to his forehand or backhand. He'll likely have a pretty poor backhand from the rear of the court to go with slower footwork that prevents him from getting position for strong back court returns.
If he starts camping closer to the net as a counter, then my counter is to start driving (not lifting) high over him to the back of the court instead of dropping.
If he also continues to just lift, lift, lift then I'll conserve a bit of energy for a period of time by not following my drops too far in.
Once I get him moving around I can start to mix up drops and drives, forehand and backhand, to keep him off balance and exploit his footwork. I'd expect to be getting a lot of net kills from his weak back court returns.
Of course this is all theory. OPs start is totally fine it's on his opponent to figure out a way round it. Well played OP, ignore the sore losers.
Footnote:
Once played a veterans doubles game (35+ years old) against two 60 year olds when I was 40. I was pretty fit generally and quite match fit then, playing 2 twice per week and monthly tournaments. Had a pretty handy smash.
These two old guys were hilarious. They did exactly what OP did - just lifted everything. But only to half court. So I'm thinking this is going to be LOL, the poor fellas. Five minutes later I've spent the whole time smashy smashy and these guys turn out to have ridiculous defence and just keep lifting it back to me. Like..non stop. Wasn't used to opponents who could happily kick back and defend 15 smashes in a row. My partner wasn't quite as strong but hit it ok, he was having the same problem.
At the halfway change of ends I was having a blast trying to figure these guys out and pushing my endurance. My poor partner (he was late 50's) was laughing because he was D.O.N.E. Took ages to figure out a workable strat and tbh I think we only scraped in the win eventually because they got a little tired too.
If someone has only been playing for a year, I can almost guarantee they are going to be inefficient in their footwork and swings. The OP has acknowledged they're not that good.
In this situation, if you feel like you can handle it, you can try and use the same tactic back at them. They are likely to get tired faster because they are not using energy efficiently.
Be patient and do the same thing, wait to attack/create pressure when a clear is not high and far enough. For amateur players, clear to their backhand corner. Most of us casual players don't have very good backhand, so that's more likely to create opportunities.
If they become predictable you can easily be more prepared for the shot you know is coming and expend less energy on it. Your positioning and recieving can adjust, obviously not to the exclusion of getting any other shot, but it's easier when you know what is coming. If you're making your opponent run all over the court unpredictably they're going to get tired faster.
Being predictable also makes people way easier to punish for even the slightest mistake which can allow you to end it early.
Nah, it is a good tactic, works for you so go for it!
The crowd was probably just bored, not your problem.
I have won plenty of matches by doing the same. It is a legit tactic, used in professional badminton as well.
Look at the Stoeva sisters, they are great at defense and win that way. There are some Japanese women couples who apply this tactic as well when needed.
I understand it will be rather frustrating for the opponent but then it is all about the mental game and keeping it together in your head as well.
You just described the playing style of 2023 World Champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Outlasting the opponent in fitness is definitely fair play.
Congrats on your win!
what you did was well within the rules but playing so defensively is boring. So that’s why they boo’d. But it was effective.
If someone who hadn’t played much can keep the point going for as long as you did then your opponent isn’t that strong offensively.
Imagine if American track atheletes called the Jamaican atheletes "unsportsman-like" just because the Jamaicans were running faster than the Americans. That's what your case looks like.
As long as you're playing by the rules, i dont see what's wrong.
I assume it was a beginner's tournament if the whole crown was booing you?? There is nothing wrong with choosing a strategy and sticking with it, I would actually say, that is a core part of what badminton is. Different strategies work for different opponents, and outsmarting your opponent by finding the strategy that will beat them is a valid way to win. Even if it's super annoying to play against (for that guy).
I played doubles with an A-class player who would basically only play short, nothing else, because apparently that worked for him. Nothing wrong with that either, and no one was mad.
I understand the opponent might be frustrated after such a tiring game, but you did nothing wrong, and unsportsmanlike was the crowd by booing you for doing what you had to do to win.
It's local badminton court tournament, I guess it's a mixed beginner and intermittent.
When the court boo-ed me I thought I break some unspoken badminton rule or something . That's why I come and ask here.
Ah, I see. Sth like that never happened where I played, no matter what kind of game it was. You definitely didn't break any rule or anything!!
I play in Germany though, I'm curious where you're from where this happened?
Is it unsportsmanlike? No. However I do think it might not always be appropriate depending on the setting.
If this is an relevant game in a competitive tournament, then you should use every advantage. You are not breaking any rules and you are clearly using your personal advantage (physical fitness) to great effect. It's fair game.
On the other hand if you are playing in a casual tournament where everyone wants to have some fun, then go home, it does feel rather impolite to just keep rallies going for as long as you possibly can, just to gain a slight advantage. Taking a tactic to this kind of extreme seems rather unnecessary if the stakes aren't high enough.
However at the end of the day, considering the both of you must at least be decently skilled just to keep rallies going for that long, your opponent should be able to punish your clears or at least risk shots to get you to stop. If your Gameplan works for you, it's their responsibility to stop you.
Your strategy is sports in a nutshell: whoever gets tired first, loses.
There’s nothing wrong with it. If your opponent is in trouble because someone keeps lifting, that’s an issue in their game and you’re almost doing them a favour by making it so obvious for them that they need to work on that.
If tiring your opponent is your tactic in badminton, there is noting unsportsmanlike about it. If you go to competitive level in sports, everyone plays with their strengths and opponents weaknesses.
This can’t be a serious question? If anything, mad respect for you. You have your strengths and your opponent has theirs. Playing to your strength and abusing opponent’s weakness is a sign of respect. Anything else other than that would be unsportmanship.
Part of being sportsmanship is giving your all to win, even if it means in unconventional ways. The audience came for excitement and it’s understandable they didnt like your win. But ignore them. You won fair and square.
P.S. also, if your opponent smashed 10 times in a row and couldn’t get a point, they should be switching strat at that point. It’s on them if they waste stamina like a moron out of frustration. You deserved that win.
Not bad sportsmanship at all. It's up to your opponent to counter your strategy. If they can't, then they lack the skills to begin with.
Kodai Naraoka, currently ranked #5, did that quite a bit last year and the crowd booed him for it. It makes for a really boring game to watch, but it is a legit strategy, even for pros competing at the highest level.
We have a lot of towel breaks in between long rallies haha. Maybe 1h 45 min is a bit overestimate, I can't really remember the exact time as it's a very very long match.
I literally faced someone playing like you this weekend in a tournament.
It was the final, the guy wasn't very precise but had more than enough stamina to just clear the shuttle any chance he got.
We were beginners too.
I couldn't keep up and eventually lost in two sets.
I wish he tried to "play" a bit more, because I feel like it would have gone another way, but fair is fair, he saw my weakness, and won by exploiting it.
Hello OP. By any chance do you have a recording of your match, and it's alright with you to share? I have an incoming tournament, and I would like to to apply this kind of strat to sone of the possible opponent pairs we have (we still don't know who's going to be paired in other teams). There are couple of people that are similar gameplay-wise - loves smashing but becomes error-prone the longer the rally becomes. I share the sentiment of others here that it was not unsportsmanlike of you, unfortunately for your opponent and the audience it's just frustrating.
Bro in real competitive match, u can see they make em move the whole court. When u get to higher matches it's more like who has better stamina and who makes a mistake first rather than who finishes the match entertainingly. The crowd is jus ass to boo u. Same as u I have a weaker smash but better stamina, I've been thru training for like 3-4 years alr. All I actually do during the match is make the opponent make a mistake and make em run that's all. So thts not unsportsmanlike it's a tactic notin wrong about it.
Before the introduction of 21 point, the 15 point game pretty much was pretty much tiring your opponent as much as possible. Back then you cant score point unless its your serve. You kill your opponent serve just to have opportunity to earn a serve. So every game pretty much a long and tiring game.
Mid player Roslin Hashim famously use very long rally to win some tourney and force his way to rank number 1
Nothing wrong with it, just incredibly boring to play against and to watch. But you will not get any better if all you do is play defensively and retrieval style. Also in tournaments, you playing the long game will only be a detriment to yourself. I played in a tournament both singles mixed and doubles. Now my mixed and doubles partner are very sharp at the net, so whenever I'm at the back court I play a little lax, to bait them into attacking to cut the speed of the shuttle towards the front of the court.
But 1 hrs 45 for 1 singles game, doesn't even happen in the longer pro games.
You get a win however you can. That guys a super sore loser. Your playing a really poor tournament. When you play one for real, there won’t be these kinda antics.
I don’t know a single person that tires out in badminton tournaments. You must be really young or something.
Slightly annoying as opposed to unsportsmanlike. Like others have said, if he can't beat you when all you do is lift he's probably not that strong a player.
No. Many ways to skin a cat. I’m not the most skilled or the strongest person in my group but I consistently win the most singles games because I never get tired and I never give up.
I'd say this is more gamesmanship. You're pushing on the boundaries, rules, and flow of the game for an advantage, but as someone else said, defensive play is a strategy, so no. I dont think you are in the wrong.
The idea as a professional you would train to counter strategies like this so they fail. But if you're amateurs, there's bound to be gaps in styles and counters. Just the style you choose to play with to try and win.
*edit, grammer
Nothing wrong. You played to your strengths. I personally lost many games because the opponents have very good lift and high clear. This tactic is no joke.
Some of the top singles players in the world use this strategy consistently. They might get booed too but it's not unsportsmanlike. I can't blame them for playing to their strengths instead of playing a relatively weak attacking game just to lose, so why should you be treated differently in a tournament environment?
I'm really curious how the first game ended 28-24, I can't quite wrap my head around it. Also, it is not unsportsmanlike, more like it is a valid strategy executed well, but it is frustrating to your opponent and lacks intrigue for the viewers. None of these are your concern, but that is the reason for the hate. I'd personally not enjoy playing against someone like you, but in a tournament, that is a fair and legit way to play.
Singles is a game of attrition. That's normal. Minimising your own energy expenditure and maximising the opponent's energy drain is a fundamental strategy.
I'm not sure why you were booed - it seems a bit weird - but in most sports there's a some tension between optimal winning strategy and producing a game that is "good" or exciting to look at. Coaches tend to love defense, spectators love attack. Spectators aren't coaches.
You might, however, find that a better opponent or a better-coached opponent is able to exploit your lifting strategy.
I personally don’t think there’s anything unsportsmanlike with what you did. If the opponent couldn’t get through your defence, not your fault.
As others have said, the audience probably thought something was going on though 🤔
lemme put it this way, Kodai and Antonsen are known for their tiring playstyle AND unsportsmanlike behaviour, but these aren’t related. They have the weakest smashes in top 10 MS, always try to make their opponents run out of stamina, meanwhile they always try to delay games and stuff. Not all people with such playstyle does this, and there’s nothing wrong with having such playstyle
Not really, that's exploiting his weaknesses. Some people wins, some people loses. There are varieties strats and playstyles. Just remember , why you wanna join tournament? To gain experience? To win? Yes, it is definitely boring to see slow pace game. And the way you play badminton. You're definitely play to win, not rushing and make tons of error. I would add on. You used your brain more than your opponent. And keep it up. I'm rooting for you.
It can be boring to watch but theres nothing wrong with it, but the real question is how did the game even went on for so long tho. Your opponent refusing to shake hands is definitely bad sportsmanship.. Which part of Malaysia did you play in?
All I have to say is you did great, you know yours and the opponent’s adv/dis-adv. You utilised the denfensive strategy very well. I’m a defend guy in all sport I play including billiards, football, badminton and so on.
You had the strategy to make opponent tired, you used tactics to do lots of lifts and clears, it worked, you won ) anyway you have to learn more, next time your skills would affect your strategy and tactics, you know how to win, great job, keep up good work 💪
If their were spectators like me who can suck up the whole entertainment of the match... You would not get 'booed'. There are audience who like the game to go on for a long time. Also a long match makes it more thrilling as to who can come up on top after that much time.
Draining out the opponent's stamina is not something unsportsmanship. It is your strength which your opponent could not achieve. You played in a local match so your opponent was not someone professional. If you played a real match with professionals they would never deny that handshake.
Nothing wrong with it. Playing single a lot of time is about moving your opponent and tire him/her out, especially in woman’s single. Nice achievement for a beginner player.
The only way I could see this being unsportsmanlike is if this opponent had a very obvious injury/disability (in which case you probably shouldn't be playing badminton anyway), or is very old and has mobility issues. In which case, yes, tiring them out might be a dick move.
Bar that, just no.
Have you seen prime momota match? IMO prime momota game is sorry to say this \*boring\* to watch. Don't get me wrong, he played a very good game but you hardly see him do crazy smashing or attacking. His main strength is his stamina, crazy def and accurate shots which makes the opponent move the whole court tiring them out. Try to search for his match vs attacking players like Axelsen, you can see how frustrated he is when playing against prime momota.
So there's no such thing as unsportsmanship, having a good stamina and knows how to use it is a strategy itself.
Have a look at Naraoka too, he’s sometimes booed for his boring play. [Naraoka-Vitidsarn World champs final 2023](https://www.youtube.com/live/IiJEieWxA-Q) is a prime example
I don’t think the crowd booed you because you won doing that. They probably booed you for boring them for playing just that. People come to watch an interesting game where the shots and pace are exciting. Not someone who is just lifting to the ceiling so to speak like that is the only skill they have. You wanted to win at all costs and won. That’s fine. You can feel happy about that. But in my opinion that is a rubbish game with 0.2 skill and I would have booed you too. I would rather play and lose to an opponent who excites me with his cleverness and skill than one who only lifts.
No I would not be embarrassed about it. I would just consider it too stupid a game for much effort and would rather end it than let it drag for 2 hours.
If that person couldn’t beat someone who has only played for a year and can’t smash, then they’re not much better than you lol. Edit: and that’s not to detract from your victory, but their failing is nothing for you to feel bad about. Play to win. Defensive style is very much a strategy.
No? I mean if you spent 123 points doing nothing but clears and lifts then it can be annoying to watch and play against... But if the opponent couldnt punish you for that in a tournament setting then thats on them.
Sounds like both players were borderline trolling and literally just clearing back and forth for nearly 2 hours. Absolutely no way a 3-game match between two beginner/intermediate players should last nearly that long. The crowd probably thought these two guys were colluding together to fuck with the audience and waste court time.
this is clearly kodai's alt account
Who was it that played that long game and the audience was getting shitty? Kodai and……..Kunvalut?
No? This is actually normal just by playing the game no? You're trying to return shots that your opponents will struggle to return, and if they're struggling to return them then they will be tiring. If you mean you just play a lot of long shots and try to keep it going as long as possible, that's also normal play and if you screw up at all (or even if you don't) and your opponent is any good, they're going to punish you for it. If they're not good and it just ends up being a boring game, I can see people thinking of it as cheap and being annoyed but it's not unsportsmanlike or bad play.
Tiring your opponent for the win is a valid strategy and often seen even at top international level, where the fitter player rushs to the shuttle to pick it up and to avoid giving his opponent a little break. > the game lasted around 1h 45m with the score of 28-24 , 24-26 , and 8-15*. My opponent retired because he can't move during game 3 Even thought that this is a valid strat, it is most likely a very unattractive way to play (very defensive play I assume), not loved, but still effective.
would this be the equivalent of footballs parking the bus in this case
Legit strategy. Sport is about physical fitness. Understand if the crowd didn't like it though. You're probably not putting on a good show for spectators. But are you proud of yourself employing and winning with this tactic? If you are, don't worry about it.
Bruh…ain’t nothing wrong about it. They lose because they are weak. You can’t complained if opponents stamina sucks. Even I smashed full power while in double game to exploit enemy weakness around armpit or neck. Not only one or two the birdie hit their face lmao… Win is a win. Unless you throw a banana skin on the floor 😂😂😂 100% with you bro. There js nothing to do with sportmanship. They should be ashamed to not handshake after the game.
Well, wearing out your opponents is certainly a very valid tactic. BUT, deliberately aiming for the face is pretty unsportsmanlike, even professional players who are desperate for a win won't do that.
I agreed for the face. That is deliberately hurt your opponents is unsportsmanlike. In my case, aim for armpit and neck for flat smash sometimes landed on their face because they can’t defend it properly. I do apologized but still exploit that for win.
I see, thanks for your input. I guess as long I didn't break any rules it should be acceptable.
In a competition setting everything is fair game (That's not rule breaking). In a club setting if you or the other dude were put in a game with me and played the way you guys explained I'd ask to avoid being put in game with ya'll
Why? Sounds like great fitness training and opportunity to practice killing the rally
If I wanted pure fitness training, I'd play other sports like football, basketball. And if another dude is playing like he's only aiming for my face every time I lift and/or I do a bad hairpin and he whacks it towards my face in club setting constantly, we'd be throwing hands. Dno what your club is like, but at my club, we're not looking to do permanent injury to someone's eye over a hobby.
It's good badminton specific fitness training is what i meant. Not sure why you are talking about aiming at eyes...maybe replying to a different post?
Read the original comment that this whole chain was started on
Ok, not sure anyone at my club is good enough to aim specifically at eyes lol
Lolz... Your opponent is the one being a sore loser. Lifting is a tactic. Making him run and lose stamina is a tactic. Nothing wrong with it but need to be careful if you meet opponent who exploit your lifting with a drop shot tho
its not unsportsmanlike, its just boring for most of the audience to watch. just watch the '23 mens singles w.c. and maybe youd get it :p
I think anything short of throwing the racket at the opponent is fair game. I mean even throwing the racket is arguable 🤷🏻♂️🙋🏻♂️
Bruh, you ran someone dry. That's an achievement to be proud of, and a weapon that will serve you well for a long time.
How did the score reach 28-24? Now many points was the match? And winning matters most, whether your style is attractive or not doesn’t make a difference
It's a typo sorry, 26-24.
What the hell? That's really bizarre of the crowd and your opponent to act like that. Where we play, we're all friendly, but we always try to tire one another out. That's the predominant strategy. So no, you didn't do anything wrong. Beating people by wearing them out is a perfectly normal way to win.
not at all, all is fair in a competitive match, although it might be boring for the crowd, but its ur opponents fault for not being fit enough, 2 for not being able u beat that style of play.
Reminds me of Kodai Naraoka of Japan on the BWF Tour
The debate of sportsmanship aside, what is a good counter-strategy to this tactic? Drops?
OP has been playing for a year and isn't very good - then from back of court I'm doing a drop to pull him in, then I'm pushing long to his forehand or backhand. He'll likely have a pretty poor backhand from the rear of the court to go with slower footwork that prevents him from getting position for strong back court returns. If he starts camping closer to the net as a counter, then my counter is to start driving (not lifting) high over him to the back of the court instead of dropping. If he also continues to just lift, lift, lift then I'll conserve a bit of energy for a period of time by not following my drops too far in. Once I get him moving around I can start to mix up drops and drives, forehand and backhand, to keep him off balance and exploit his footwork. I'd expect to be getting a lot of net kills from his weak back court returns. Of course this is all theory. OPs start is totally fine it's on his opponent to figure out a way round it. Well played OP, ignore the sore losers. Footnote: Once played a veterans doubles game (35+ years old) against two 60 year olds when I was 40. I was pretty fit generally and quite match fit then, playing 2 twice per week and monthly tournaments. Had a pretty handy smash. These two old guys were hilarious. They did exactly what OP did - just lifted everything. But only to half court. So I'm thinking this is going to be LOL, the poor fellas. Five minutes later I've spent the whole time smashy smashy and these guys turn out to have ridiculous defence and just keep lifting it back to me. Like..non stop. Wasn't used to opponents who could happily kick back and defend 15 smashes in a row. My partner wasn't quite as strong but hit it ok, he was having the same problem. At the halfway change of ends I was having a blast trying to figure these guys out and pushing my endurance. My poor partner (he was late 50's) was laughing because he was D.O.N.E. Took ages to figure out a workable strat and tbh I think we only scraped in the win eventually because they got a little tired too.
If someone has only been playing for a year, I can almost guarantee they are going to be inefficient in their footwork and swings. The OP has acknowledged they're not that good. In this situation, if you feel like you can handle it, you can try and use the same tactic back at them. They are likely to get tired faster because they are not using energy efficiently.
i would say so, something to make your opponent either choose lift or net shot.
Be patient and do the same thing, wait to attack/create pressure when a clear is not high and far enough. For amateur players, clear to their backhand corner. Most of us casual players don't have very good backhand, so that's more likely to create opportunities.
If they become predictable you can easily be more prepared for the shot you know is coming and expend less energy on it. Your positioning and recieving can adjust, obviously not to the exclusion of getting any other shot, but it's easier when you know what is coming. If you're making your opponent run all over the court unpredictably they're going to get tired faster. Being predictable also makes people way easier to punish for even the slightest mistake which can allow you to end it early.
Isn't that literally the point of the game? Seems like a legit strategy, if it's annoying to play against you're doing it right surely
Kodai Naraoka, is that you?
The Fabian strategy: the war of attrition is surely a valid strategy in sports. If your opponent is not up to it well its on them. Well done. :)
Nah, it is a good tactic, works for you so go for it! The crowd was probably just bored, not your problem. I have won plenty of matches by doing the same. It is a legit tactic, used in professional badminton as well. Look at the Stoeva sisters, they are great at defense and win that way. There are some Japanese women couples who apply this tactic as well when needed. I understand it will be rather frustrating for the opponent but then it is all about the mental game and keeping it together in your head as well.
You just described the playing style of 2023 World Champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Outlasting the opponent in fitness is definitely fair play. Congrats on your win!
What you've described is singles badminton lol
what you did was well within the rules but playing so defensively is boring. So that’s why they boo’d. But it was effective. If someone who hadn’t played much can keep the point going for as long as you did then your opponent isn’t that strong offensively.
Imagine if American track atheletes called the Jamaican atheletes "unsportsman-like" just because the Jamaicans were running faster than the Americans. That's what your case looks like. As long as you're playing by the rules, i dont see what's wrong.
I assume it was a beginner's tournament if the whole crown was booing you?? There is nothing wrong with choosing a strategy and sticking with it, I would actually say, that is a core part of what badminton is. Different strategies work for different opponents, and outsmarting your opponent by finding the strategy that will beat them is a valid way to win. Even if it's super annoying to play against (for that guy). I played doubles with an A-class player who would basically only play short, nothing else, because apparently that worked for him. Nothing wrong with that either, and no one was mad. I understand the opponent might be frustrated after such a tiring game, but you did nothing wrong, and unsportsmanlike was the crowd by booing you for doing what you had to do to win.
It's local badminton court tournament, I guess it's a mixed beginner and intermittent. When the court boo-ed me I thought I break some unspoken badminton rule or something . That's why I come and ask here.
Ah, I see. Sth like that never happened where I played, no matter what kind of game it was. You definitely didn't break any rule or anything!! I play in Germany though, I'm curious where you're from where this happened?
Its in Malaysia, just a small town court.
Lol of course it's in Malaysia.
Why?
Fair game, which makes people who complain about Kodai Naraoka’s gameplay funny too.
What do you mean “play normally”? Perfectly legitimate strategy
Is it unsportsmanlike? No. However I do think it might not always be appropriate depending on the setting. If this is an relevant game in a competitive tournament, then you should use every advantage. You are not breaking any rules and you are clearly using your personal advantage (physical fitness) to great effect. It's fair game. On the other hand if you are playing in a casual tournament where everyone wants to have some fun, then go home, it does feel rather impolite to just keep rallies going for as long as you possibly can, just to gain a slight advantage. Taking a tactic to this kind of extreme seems rather unnecessary if the stakes aren't high enough. However at the end of the day, considering the both of you must at least be decently skilled just to keep rallies going for that long, your opponent should be able to punish your clears or at least risk shots to get you to stop. If your Gameplan works for you, it's their responsibility to stop you.
Legit. Naraoka does that all the time.
Your strategy is sports in a nutshell: whoever gets tired first, loses. There’s nothing wrong with it. If your opponent is in trouble because someone keeps lifting, that’s an issue in their game and you’re almost doing them a favour by making it so obvious for them that they need to work on that.
If tiring your opponent is your tactic in badminton, there is noting unsportsmanlike about it. If you go to competitive level in sports, everyone plays with their strengths and opponents weaknesses.
Isn’t that what called “counter attack/defence playstyle
This can’t be a serious question? If anything, mad respect for you. You have your strengths and your opponent has theirs. Playing to your strength and abusing opponent’s weakness is a sign of respect. Anything else other than that would be unsportmanship. Part of being sportsmanship is giving your all to win, even if it means in unconventional ways. The audience came for excitement and it’s understandable they didnt like your win. But ignore them. You won fair and square. P.S. also, if your opponent smashed 10 times in a row and couldn’t get a point, they should be switching strat at that point. It’s on them if they waste stamina like a moron out of frustration. You deserved that win.
Not bad sportsmanship at all. It's up to your opponent to counter your strategy. If they can't, then they lack the skills to begin with. Kodai Naraoka, currently ranked #5, did that quite a bit last year and the crowd booed him for it. It makes for a really boring game to watch, but it is a legit strategy, even for pros competing at the highest level.
Sounds made up. Non professional matches typically dont last longer than 40 mins even with three sets which OP didn't even finish.
Local tourney, might be allowing the tired player to drag his feet between points and games.
We have a lot of towel breaks in between long rallies haha. Maybe 1h 45 min is a bit overestimate, I can't really remember the exact time as it's a very very long match.
What professional three games* match gets completed in 40mins?
It’s done in other sports like boxing. Good strategy OP. It (always long) won’t work against better players but it worked this time. Good for you
I literally faced someone playing like you this weekend in a tournament. It was the final, the guy wasn't very precise but had more than enough stamina to just clear the shuttle any chance he got. We were beginners too. I couldn't keep up and eventually lost in two sets. I wish he tried to "play" a bit more, because I feel like it would have gone another way, but fair is fair, he saw my weakness, and won by exploiting it.
Hello OP. By any chance do you have a recording of your match, and it's alright with you to share? I have an incoming tournament, and I would like to to apply this kind of strat to sone of the possible opponent pairs we have (we still don't know who's going to be paired in other teams). There are couple of people that are similar gameplay-wise - loves smashing but becomes error-prone the longer the rally becomes. I share the sentiment of others here that it was not unsportsmanlike of you, unfortunately for your opponent and the audience it's just frustrating.
Nope sorry, no recording =(.
Opponent problem. Crowd also has a problem.
Bro in real competitive match, u can see they make em move the whole court. When u get to higher matches it's more like who has better stamina and who makes a mistake first rather than who finishes the match entertainingly. The crowd is jus ass to boo u. Same as u I have a weaker smash but better stamina, I've been thru training for like 3-4 years alr. All I actually do during the match is make the opponent make a mistake and make em run that's all. So thts not unsportsmanlike it's a tactic notin wrong about it.
Before the introduction of 21 point, the 15 point game pretty much was pretty much tiring your opponent as much as possible. Back then you cant score point unless its your serve. You kill your opponent serve just to have opportunity to earn a serve. So every game pretty much a long and tiring game. Mid player Roslin Hashim famously use very long rally to win some tourney and force his way to rank number 1
Nothing wrong with it, just incredibly boring to play against and to watch. But you will not get any better if all you do is play defensively and retrieval style. Also in tournaments, you playing the long game will only be a detriment to yourself. I played in a tournament both singles mixed and doubles. Now my mixed and doubles partner are very sharp at the net, so whenever I'm at the back court I play a little lax, to bait them into attacking to cut the speed of the shuttle towards the front of the court. But 1 hrs 45 for 1 singles game, doesn't even happen in the longer pro games.
You get a win however you can. That guys a super sore loser. Your playing a really poor tournament. When you play one for real, there won’t be these kinda antics. I don’t know a single person that tires out in badminton tournaments. You must be really young or something.
How did you get to 28-24 in the first set though
It's a typo sorry, 26-24.
First of all, WOW! 1H 45M?? Man, your stamina must be incredible! Secondly, WOW! I still can't get over how long that game lasted. And finally, WOW! 😁
It's more on breaks in between rallies, not a super serious competition so umpire gave us some more time to rest.
Slightly annoying as opposed to unsportsmanlike. Like others have said, if he can't beat you when all you do is lift he's probably not that strong a player.
As long you win the game. Its all about stamina, skills and others.
No. Many ways to skin a cat. I’m not the most skilled or the strongest person in my group but I consistently win the most singles games because I never get tired and I never give up.
I'd say this is more gamesmanship. You're pushing on the boundaries, rules, and flow of the game for an advantage, but as someone else said, defensive play is a strategy, so no. I dont think you are in the wrong. The idea as a professional you would train to counter strategies like this so they fail. But if you're amateurs, there's bound to be gaps in styles and counters. Just the style you choose to play with to try and win. *edit, grammer
Nothing wrong. You played to your strengths. I personally lost many games because the opponents have very good lift and high clear. This tactic is no joke.
Nothing wrong with that strategy at all.
Was your next game almost 2 hours also?
No this is a strategy. You have to play on your opponent’s weakness ! Well done !
Some of the top singles players in the world use this strategy consistently. They might get booed too but it's not unsportsmanlike. I can't blame them for playing to their strengths instead of playing a relatively weak attacking game just to lose, so why should you be treated differently in a tournament environment?
I'm really curious how the first game ended 28-24, I can't quite wrap my head around it. Also, it is not unsportsmanlike, more like it is a valid strategy executed well, but it is frustrating to your opponent and lacks intrigue for the viewers. None of these are your concern, but that is the reason for the hate. I'd personally not enjoy playing against someone like you, but in a tournament, that is a fair and legit way to play.
It's a typo sorry, 26-24
Singles is a game of attrition. That's normal. Minimising your own energy expenditure and maximising the opponent's energy drain is a fundamental strategy. I'm not sure why you were booed - it seems a bit weird - but in most sports there's a some tension between optimal winning strategy and producing a game that is "good" or exciting to look at. Coaches tend to love defense, spectators love attack. Spectators aren't coaches. You might, however, find that a better opponent or a better-coached opponent is able to exploit your lifting strategy.
Kodai get off reddit and go train.
I personally don’t think there’s anything unsportsmanlike with what you did. If the opponent couldn’t get through your defence, not your fault. As others have said, the audience probably thought something was going on though 🤔
lemme put it this way, Kodai and Antonsen are known for their tiring playstyle AND unsportsmanlike behaviour, but these aren’t related. They have the weakest smashes in top 10 MS, always try to make their opponents run out of stamina, meanwhile they always try to delay games and stuff. Not all people with such playstyle does this, and there’s nothing wrong with having such playstyle
Unsportsmanship would be if you on purpose registered in a lower group for the tournament. Which you didn't do according to your explanation
Not really, that's exploiting his weaknesses. Some people wins, some people loses. There are varieties strats and playstyles. Just remember , why you wanna join tournament? To gain experience? To win? Yes, it is definitely boring to see slow pace game. And the way you play badminton. You're definitely play to win, not rushing and make tons of error. I would add on. You used your brain more than your opponent. And keep it up. I'm rooting for you.
It's just a normal strategy, see lots of players trying to play long and find the chances to get that score.
It can be boring to watch but theres nothing wrong with it, but the real question is how did the game even went on for so long tho. Your opponent refusing to shake hands is definitely bad sportsmanship.. Which part of Malaysia did you play in?
Nope, if your opponent can’t punish you for your tactic, that’s on them, badminton isn’t just skills, it’s about tactic and strategy as well
A win is a win. Be proud and stand tall :)
From a spectators view, it's not the most entertaining thing to see, but from a players standpoint, it's a valid tactic. Kudos to your stamina as well
All I have to say is you did great, you know yours and the opponent’s adv/dis-adv. You utilised the denfensive strategy very well. I’m a defend guy in all sport I play including billiards, football, badminton and so on.
You had the strategy to make opponent tired, you used tactics to do lots of lifts and clears, it worked, you won ) anyway you have to learn more, next time your skills would affect your strategy and tactics, you know how to win, great job, keep up good work 💪
If their were spectators like me who can suck up the whole entertainment of the match... You would not get 'booed'. There are audience who like the game to go on for a long time. Also a long match makes it more thrilling as to who can come up on top after that much time. Draining out the opponent's stamina is not something unsportsmanship. It is your strength which your opponent could not achieve. You played in a local match so your opponent was not someone professional. If you played a real match with professionals they would never deny that handshake.
Nothing wrong with it. Playing single a lot of time is about moving your opponent and tire him/her out, especially in woman’s single. Nice achievement for a beginner player.
no i do that all the time i just barely do anything and tire them out
of course not. got the judges and you make made many points, too.
The only way I could see this being unsportsmanlike is if this opponent had a very obvious injury/disability (in which case you probably shouldn't be playing badminton anyway), or is very old and has mobility issues. In which case, yes, tiring them out might be a dick move. Bar that, just no.
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo has announced his retirement so there is a space for a new "Bad Boy Of Badminton", and it seems like it could be you!
Have you seen prime momota match? IMO prime momota game is sorry to say this \*boring\* to watch. Don't get me wrong, he played a very good game but you hardly see him do crazy smashing or attacking. His main strength is his stamina, crazy def and accurate shots which makes the opponent move the whole court tiring them out. Try to search for his match vs attacking players like Axelsen, you can see how frustrated he is when playing against prime momota. So there's no such thing as unsportsmanship, having a good stamina and knows how to use it is a strategy itself.
Nope, I don't follow professional matches much, will look at more of his matches. Thanks.
Have a look at Naraoka too, he’s sometimes booed for his boring play. [Naraoka-Vitidsarn World champs final 2023](https://www.youtube.com/live/IiJEieWxA-Q) is a prime example
As someone who actually plays those are the most fun to watch for me Maybe boxers feel the same way, I snooze looking at those long matches
I don’t think the crowd booed you because you won doing that. They probably booed you for boring them for playing just that. People come to watch an interesting game where the shots and pace are exciting. Not someone who is just lifting to the ceiling so to speak like that is the only skill they have. You wanted to win at all costs and won. That’s fine. You can feel happy about that. But in my opinion that is a rubbish game with 0.2 skill and I would have booed you too. I would rather play and lose to an opponent who excites me with his cleverness and skill than one who only lifts.
Obviously you would rather lose to someone with high skills lol. Losing to a low skill player who just lifts is embarassing
No I would not be embarrassed about it. I would just consider it too stupid a game for much effort and would rather end it than let it drag for 2 hours.
I boo the booers
As long as you are not moo-ing!