Rashid Sidek says European shuttlers are catching up with Asians players – Badminton news
Malaysia’s national coach, Rashid Sidek said that European shuttlers have raised the level of their game and they are catching up with Asian players in the sport. In the opening round of the 2011 World Championships, many non-Asian players proved their mettle
as they defeated some high ranked shuttlers by playing top-class badminton.
In the Men’s Singles first round, the big crowd at Wembley Arena in London witnessed the biggest upset so far in this World Championship, as they watched Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon beat World Number Five, China’s Chen Long in the Men’s Singles first round.
In another match of Men’s Singles, Ville Lang of Finland toppled the higher ranked Indonesia’s Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka. Hans Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark also trounced Hong Kong’s Hu Yun, who was the 16th seed in the Men’s Singles draw.
In the category of Women’s Singles, Chloe Magee of Ireland thrashed Indonesia’s Adrianti Firdasari by playing stunning badminton.
Rashid said, “Players from countries where badminton is not that well-known are beginning to put in a lot of efforts because this is an Olympic sport. They are hiring top Asian coaches to groom their players and this bodes well for the sport.”
While talking about Chinese shuttlers, Rashid added, “China always produced players with good quality and it is unheard of for one of them to lose in the opening round ... especially to an unheralded player. It also shows that they too are struggling to
find new talents.”
The Malaysian coach also expressed that the top seed of China, Lin Dan, has his own class and it is not easy to replace him as there is no Chinese shuttler even close to him in all aspects of the game. However, the coach further added that China is certainly
looking for some talented shuttlers to become true successors of Lin Dan.
The fast growth of the non-Asian players is a healthy sign for the popularity of the game in all regions of the world. Since badminton has gained the status of an Olympic sport, it is also drawing the attention of those countries where this game in not popular.
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