Does height in badminton matter for better performance
Most often players asks this question that is there any ideal height to play better in badminton? or does height matter in badminton.Well Firstly look at height of top badminton players lets try to find out what’s an average height these player are having and how height affect there performance in badminton.
So to answer your question quickly yes height do effect result in badminton matches if have regularly watch matches you have probably also watched women single World Championship final 2017 contested between PV Sindhu and nozomi okuhara , what was so special about that match? P V Sindhu height is 1.79 m where as nozomi okuhara height is 1.56 m and that height difference was clearly affecting the rally, most of the time PV Sindhu was dictating the valley where is nozomi okuhara was chasing the shuttle because of the height difference but still nozomi okuhara manage to win the match, so it all depends on how you use your strength to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses.
Mads Pieler Kolding ,Tallest badminton player
Height in meters:-2.05m(6 feet 7 inch)
Now lets see the strength of been the tallest badminton player
1. More reach on court with less use of energy:- For a player who is over 6 feet tall it is very easy for him to move around the court.
I have one friend who is over 6 Foot tall and it is like hell to play with him specially in half court because he barely moves and take shuttle in middle, only option I left with is making full length clear and then playing a slow drop shot to really off balance him , same thing in full Court while a short player is diving to defend smash on sidelines, tall player can simply take a lunge and be done with it.
2. Sharp smashes:- Jump smashes are performed by to make smashes more steeper and powerful but a tall player can execute sharp smash even while standing this saves him energy and time.
3. Better defense:- If you have watched lee chong wei in play he dives a lot to retrieve smashes but in contrast if you watch chen long he defend the smashes with a single side lunges this is the advantage of been a tall badminton player. but they faces difficulty in defending a body smash(weakness of a tall player)
4 Less use of energy :- As you know that tall player take less step to move around court , you can see this in axelsen gameplay , it helps them In conserving energy in long matches that is why you say most all player tries to make rally longer so that they can exhaust their opponent.
5. Can tackle parallel shots :- Using drives and parallel short can be a way to go against short player what if you have match against all player then it is not that much effective because of their height even if there of Wednesday can still manage to you take your shot in middle which will create problems for you, instead of using parallel short try to useful full length shot like clears , slow drop shot, net shot.
Weakness of been a tall player(above 6 feet) in badminton
1.Slow reactions of body:- I think this the biggest disadvantage of been tall in badminton because if your reflex are not quick than you are gonna struggle in badminton a lot most of the tall athlete have slow twitch fibers .
It is not always the case if you look at usain bolt he is above 6 feet, the thing here is that badminton need lots of short, quick movement and as a tall player you will be needed to work 5 times more on you agility than a short player.
2. Difficult to return sharp shots:- If you want to beat a tall player than play more sharp shots on net area of course it is not as easy as it sound because you need to have very much control on your game to execute this strategy , but lee chong wei mostly use this strategy against chen long watch a match between lee chong wei,chen long 2014 all England and you will get an idea.
3. Weak badminton drives:- Since badminton drives require the player to hit the shuttle horizontally across the net, tall players often have to squat lower to hit an overhead drive.
4. Low Flexibility :- Some stereotypes may suggest taller people are less agile. However, many tall athletes such as basketball players rely on flexibility to perform successfully during games. Taller people have more body mass to move around during any activity.
However, flexibility training can especially help those with a naturally larger body size gain better coordination, control and balance, according to Yoga Journal. Practicing Pilates, yoga or tai chi can particularly help build flexibility and strength in core muscles, which ultimately help control and move the entire body.
5. Not Much appealing :- To be honest specially in singles I would prefer to watch a short player over a tall player and most of the people might agree with me because it is the nature of sport, badminton is a fast racket sport and watching a tall player playing long rally and reaching easily while his opponent is running like a mad man is not very much entertaining, while short player like Lee Chong Wei can be very entertaining to watch.
Nozomi Okuhara, Shortest badminton player
Height:- 1.55 m(5 feet 1 inch)
Strengths of been a short height badminton player
1. They are quick as hell:- Every player in badminton whose height is 5 feet 10 inch are much and they do not need to work on there on there agility as much as a tall player, and in badminton quickness is one of the deciding factor for win in a match.
Factors that decides weather you are going to win or lose in a match
- Mental Focus
- Physical fitness
- Agility
- Skills
- Equipment
2. They have good defense against shots hit towards the body area:- Unlike tall players, shorter players can easily squat low to hit an overhead stroke when the shuttle comes toward their throat area.
3. Less weight means less burden:- Mostly short player have less weight compares to tall player which reduce the burden of carrying extra weight and there movement is more smooth and quicker.
4. Naturally more agile :- Naturally short player are more agile and quick then tall players, it is mainly because of their muscle composition short player time to have most fast twitch fibre.
Fast-twitch muscles fatigue faster but are used in powerful bursts of movements like sprinting.
Weakness of been a short height badminton player
1. Consumes more energy:- More steps are require to cover the whole court and it requires a lots of energy if you want to get an example watch match of pv sindhu vs okuhara world championship finals.
2. Less angels in smashing:- When the shuttle is lifted right to the back of the court, a taller player’s smash or jump smash will have a steeper angle than a shorter player.
3. Counter attacks can be a weakness :- For short player steps he takes in footwork is much more than a tall player and as they are short taking a shuttle which is faster (parallel) in between the route is much difficult.
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