0:00
Pre-2010 Lindan was perhaps the greatest
0:02
player of all time and players will
0:04
especially remember his dominant play in
0:06
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
0:09
The performance was so memorable that
0:11
people often compare post 2008 Olympic
0:14
matches and wonder if players today can
0:17
compete with 2008 Lindan. We wonder
0:19
about this too and took some time to
0:21
study Lindan's gameplay. In doing so, we
0:23
found a new way to think about the game
0:25
and strategies you can copy to play like
0:33
Generally, some of the most common ways
0:35
to think about the game is to move your
0:37
opponent around the court and make them
0:39
tired or play fast and use skills like
0:43
deceptions and spin nets to set yourself
0:46
up for smash winners. After watching
0:48
hours of pre-200 Lindan footage,
0:50
however, we realize that you can also
0:53
think of the game in another way.
0:56
Instead of playing to move your opponent
0:58
around or to break their rhythm, you can
1:01
play to attack their movements and more
1:03
specifically body turns. You would think
1:06
the greatest player of all time, Lindan,
1:09
is someone who pins the lines on nearly
1:11
every shot he plays. But when you watch
1:14
his games, you may be surprised that
1:16
many of his shots land pretty close to
1:18
the middle and are also played deeper
1:20
into the court past the service line.
1:22
His opponents rarely have to take more
1:24
than one step plus a small shuffle,
1:27
which can make people wonder how Lindan
1:29
won so often. The secret lies in the
1:31
speed and angles of Lindan's shots.
1:33
Instead of playing to hit the lines and
1:35
move his opponents to certain corners on
1:36
the court, Lindan's play targets his
1:39
opponent's body control and aims to make
1:41
his opponent turn as much as possible
1:43
and test their ability to turn quickly.
1:46
Pay special attention to Lindan's pushes
1:47
and clears and watch how his opponents
1:50
almost always need to either turn and
1:51
jump or take a late forehand or
2:24
What you'll notice as well is that
2:26
Lindan will opt for flatter pushes
2:28
toward his opponent's backhand side, but
2:32
almost always gives the shot a lot more
2:34
height. when playing to his opponent's
2:37
forehand. If you think about how a
2:39
player might react to flat pushes to
2:41
either side when standing in the middle
2:42
of the court, it makes a lot of sense.
2:45
Cutting off flat shots using your
2:47
backhand often requires a full 180 turn,
2:51
while many can often get away with not
2:53
turning or turning just a little bit on
2:56
their forehand side. Players also
2:58
generally have way more shot options and
3:01
power from their forehand side in this
3:03
position than their backhand.
3:06
That's why pushing it higher toward your
3:07
opponent's forehand side is good as it
3:10
will prevent your opponent from
3:11
instantly reaching out and playing a
3:13
fast shot against you.
3:46
With these pushes and clears in mind, we
3:49
can look at the shot combos Lin Dan
3:52
frequently uses to attack his opponent's
3:54
body control. Rallies typically start
3:56
with Lind Dan pushing his opponents to
3:58
the back court and he will play a game
4:00
where he tries to use his opponent's
4:02
speed against them. For example, if his
4:05
opponents opt to drive or try to play a
4:07
straight smash but without significant
4:09
angle, one shot Lindan frequently uses
4:11
is to drive cross. You can see just how
4:13
strong your turning ability needs to be
4:15
to play against Lindan in these clips.
4:35
If Lindan's opponents opt for slower
4:37
shots to the front court, he can still
4:39
produce similar effects by taking the
4:40
net early and repushing or crossnetting.
5:13
And of course, if his opponent decides
5:17
Lindan will often use his signature
5:19
stick smash. If you want to use similar
5:21
strategies as 2008 Lindan and attack
5:24
your opponent's body control, you need
5:27
to copy Lindan's stick smash. This shot
5:30
is very effective because it produces an
5:33
extremely fast and steep shot that
5:36
forces your opponent to turn their body
5:38
very quickly to return the shot.
6:05
Lindan's stick smash is also very
6:07
effective because it does not require
6:08
full body commitment and allows him to
6:10
recover and follow up on the next shot
6:12
very quickly. Hence, if Lindan does
6:15
smash a little more toward the middle
6:16
and his opponent returns the smash, he
6:18
can easily follow up and play a push or
6:21
cross net and repeat the process.
6:39
Speaking of repeating the process, it's
6:41
not always the case that Lindan will be
6:43
able to force his opponents to turn. In
6:45
fact, sometimes doing so could be
6:47
undesirable as his own fast shot could
6:50
be punished and force Lindan to be the
6:53
one expending more energy. Thus, what's
6:56
really important to study as well is
6:58
what Lindan does when his opponent plays
7:01
highquality shots that he can't
7:02
necessarily punish. As mentioned before,
7:05
he does like to repeat the process. If
7:07
his opponent plays a good quality clear
7:08
that he can't easily stick smash, he
7:11
will often opt to clear back or play a
7:13
fast drop. Lindan is also a player that
7:15
frequently makes use of blocking toward
7:17
the middle, especially when his opponent
7:19
is in position and he's out of position.
7:21
It's also important to note that all of
7:23
Lindan's neutralizing shots are played
7:25
with some speed and generally past the
7:27
service line. This way, he makes it
7:29
difficult for his opponents to punish
7:30
him with spin nets and deceptions.
7:41
When you adjust your play style or
7:42
strategy to become completely focused on
7:44
attacking your opponent's body control,
7:46
the things you practice completely
7:48
change. For one, like we mentioned
7:50
earlier, you no longer focus so much on
7:52
the placement of your shots and instead
7:55
on the angle and speed. This can
7:57
potentially make you more consistent as
7:59
hitting closer toward the middle isn't
8:01
as much of a problem so long as you
8:04
produce a shot that gets your opponent
8:05
to turn. Changing your badminton
8:07
strategy will also change the shots you
8:10
practice. For example, one thing you'll
8:13
notice is that Lindan really only plays
8:15
spin nets to punish his opponent's loose
8:18
blocks and drops. He's not the type of
8:20
player to often force spin nets and try
8:23
to outspin his opponents. Instead,
8:26
there's much more emphasis on playing
8:27
high cross nets and good pushes at the
8:29
net. Hence, if you want to play like
8:31
2008 Lindan, you could perhaps spend
8:34
less time practicing spin nets and more
8:37
time on cross nets and pushes.
8:38
Similarly, instead of running for hours
8:41
and practicing to sustain 100 shot
8:43
rallies, you may want to focus on
8:45
building explosive power and the ability
8:48
to generate quick steep stick smashes
8:51
like Lindan. At the end of the day,
8:53
whether you want to play like Lindan or
8:55
not, it's important that you practice
8:57
the things that will specifically
8:58
improve the way you want to play.
9:00
Competitions will directly reflect what
9:02
you do in training, after all. And you
9:04
can expect to do things in tournaments
9:06
that you don't normally do in practice.
9:08
What are your thoughts about playing
9:10
like 2008 Lindan and attacking your
9:12
opponent's body control? Let us know in
9:15
the comments below. If you like this
9:17
video, hit the like and subscribe button
9:19
so you don't miss out on our future
9:22
And as always, thank you for watching.
