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Men’s singles badminton used to feel explosive, unpredictable, and emotionally charged. The legends like Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, Peter Gade, Kento Momota, and many more all made the game feel more exciting to watch. But today, many fans feel the discipline has become slower, more repetitive, and less exciting to watch. In this video, we break down why men’s singles badminton feels more boring now, even though players should be fitter, faster, and technically stronger than ever.
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
To many people, it feels like badmitten
0:01
is more boring nowadays, especially in
0:04
men's singles.
0:06
Whenever we analyze past games on
0:07
YouTube, we would always see people in
0:09
the comment section talking about how
0:12
players today do not compare at all to
0:15
those of the past, [music] like Lie
0:16
Chongwe and Lindan.
0:18
It seems like it's a popular sentiment,
0:20
too.
0:21
Many of the videos we make on players
0:23
who don't even play anymore,
0:25
particularly in Lindan, Mamo, and Li
0:29
Chongwei, gets far more viewers than
0:32
videos we make on current players. And
0:34
indeed, we prefer watching the older
0:37
matches, too, because gameplay back then
0:39
really did seem more skilled.
0:42
But does that mean players today are
0:43
just worse than before?
0:46
Not necessarily.
0:48
To clarify, when we compare the current
0:50
level of bad mitten to older
0:52
generations, we're really comparing post
0:55
2020s to the previous two decades.
1:07
And between these time periods, people
1:10
will often refer to the past players as
1:11
more smooth and exciting to watch than
1:13
current players.
1:24
Why is that the case?
1:27
Well, we studied hours of footage from
1:28
older BWF gameplay and compared it to
1:30
current BWF gameplay. And here's what we
1:32
found.
1:34
In the 2000 and 2010 eras, bad mitten
1:37
players were much more intentional with
1:39
their shot selection. The vast majority
1:41
of time, every shot had an idea behind
1:44
it, and the subsequent shots and
1:46
movements were often all planned out.
1:48
Wow.
1:50
[music]
2:08
This is why badminton was often
2:09
described as a physical game of chess.
2:12
On the pro stage, where everyone's
2:14
skills and consistency are expected to
2:16
be at the highest level.
2:18
The way a player gets points is through
2:20
outplaying their opponents.
2:24
Just take a look at this rally here
2:26
where Peter Gade pushes Topic to his
2:28
backhand and steps closer in
2:30
anticipation of a drop.
2:33
Topic, however, does not play the drop
2:36
and opts for a drive that catches Gade
2:38
offguard and wins the rally.
2:41
Today's bad mitten doesn't have this
2:43
feeling where players win by truly
2:44
outplaying their opponents. Instead,
2:47
it's just the guy who makes the fewest
2:48
mistakes who wins.
2:55
Of course, that's not to say that
2:56
current players don't have strategy.
2:58
They're pros for a reason and still play
3:00
with a brand. The problem, however, is
3:03
twofold.
3:05
First, strategy does not flow and adapt
3:07
like it used to. Players today have
3:09
ideas, but they're often stuck to just a
3:12
few shots within the rally. For example,
3:15
players might play good attacking shots
3:17
and get the opportunity for a kill.
3:20
But after they play the few shot combos
3:21
they practiced, they're not ready for
3:23
the next shot and instinctively hit the
3:26
bird without any thought. Just look at
3:28
this rally between Kodai and Luxasen at
3:30
the 2025 Arctic Open.
3:36
What we want to highlight is how Luxasen
3:38
plays a great defensive shot that makes
3:40
Kodi play an extremely late backhand.
3:42
But despite the opportunity, Lakshasen
3:45
doesn't do anything with the shot.
3:48
We get that it's a long rally and the
3:50
players don't have a ton of energy left
3:52
to move at fast speeds and attack, but
3:55
surely there was an opportunity to move
3:56
closer toward the shot Sen played and
3:58
then look to punish a loose backhand
4:01
with either a spin net or cross net.
4:06
>> Instead, Sen opts to play a net that
4:08
just got the bird over. And even worse,
4:11
Kodai proceeds to repeat the same
4:13
mistake.
4:15
He pushes Sen to the back court. And
4:17
when Kodai sees Sen turn his body to
4:18
take a late backhand, for sure that
4:21
should have been an indicator to not
4:22
take so many steps back to the middle
4:24
and stay further up at the net.
4:27
But he doesn't and ends up just
4:28
relifting Sen's backhand shot.
4:35
If we use the chess analogy, this is
4:37
basically the same as playing two good
4:39
moves and then just randomly moving
4:41
pieces because you don't know or forgot
4:44
what to do next.
4:47
Pro players from previous generations,
4:48
however, have ideas in their head and
4:51
are constantly adapting them as the game
4:53
progresses. This rally between Lie
4:55
Chongwe and Kento is great contrast.
4:58
It's also a long rally like the one
5:00
between Sen and Naroka with a lot of
5:02
clears, but Mimoto noticeably maintains
5:05
his focus and awareness better. For
5:08
example, he gets more ready for defense
5:11
when he sees Li Chongwei jump up because
5:14
he's anticipating a faster shot.
5:17
Or when Lie Chongi starts his swing a
5:19
bit slower, Mimoto becomes more ready to
5:21
attack the net.
5:25
Here's another example. In this rally,
5:29
Talik plays a late backhand clear and
5:31
prepares for defense.
5:34
But because he notices that Peter Gade
5:36
is off-footed and did not expect the
5:38
backhand clear, Talik adjusts his
5:40
position and looks to punish.
5:44
It's not just the legends either. In the
5:47
2013 Sudterman Cup match between Kenichi
5:50
Tago and Yano Jorgensson, there was a
5:52
rally where Tago pushes Jan to his late
5:54
forehand. And although Jan jumps out and
5:57
attacks, his positioning makes it
5:59
extremely difficult to hit across.
6:02
Thus, Tago shifts over in anticipation,
6:06
but also is prepared to continue to play
6:08
out his shot combos for an ultimate
6:10
winner.
6:12
Now, what makes badminton particularly
6:14
fun to watch is when both players have
6:16
strategies and actively fight each other
6:18
to successfully execute their own
6:20
strategy or prevent their opponent from
6:22
doing so.
6:26
The following rally is a good example
6:28
and we'll let you watch the whole thing
6:29
first.
7:09
Just in this rally, there's already so
7:10
much to talk about. We can first look at
7:12
how Lie Chong Wee used a deceptive cross
7:14
net on Lindan's cross slice to prevent a
7:16
straightforward follow-up.
7:19
Most players instinctively net off of
7:21
these cross nets, which is why Lie
7:23
Chongwei moves forward, but Lindan opts
7:25
to push instead. Seeing how Lie Chongwe
7:28
got caught off guard and is taking a
7:29
late forehand, Lindan opts to wait
7:31
closer to the front of the court,
7:33
anticipating a drop or high straight
7:35
clear.
7:37
But it gets better. Instead of playing
7:39
any of those two shots, Lie Chongwe
7:41
punches it across and forces Lind Dan to
7:44
take a backhand. And as the rally
7:46
progresses, you'll notice more moments
7:50
like how Lindan opts to block more
7:52
toward the middle to prevent the easy
7:54
straight followup or when Lee Chongwei
7:58
chooses to stop drop, seeing how Lindan
8:00
has rushed to the back, anticipating a
8:02
smash.
8:04
Players today have less of this. they're
8:07
more likely to play into their
8:08
opponent's combos and give the
8:10
opportunity to their opponent.
8:13
Let's take the net for example.
8:15
A very common shot pattern that every
8:17
pro will know is spin net, get a high
8:20
lift, and smash. But that's not the only
8:23
way to play the game. You can respin,
8:26
try to take it early and push flat,
8:28
cross net, or do any shot with some
8:29
deception.
8:32
With all these options, however, players
8:33
today will almost always choose the
8:35
standard pattern.
8:37
Regardless of whether that's good or
8:38
bad, safer or riskier, it is why bad
8:42
mitten men's singles has felt more
8:44
boring. Players nowadays pretty much do
8:46
the same thing. Rally until someone
8:48
plays a loose block and then spin net,
8:50
lift, and smash. Repeat if necessary.
8:53
We're not necessarily saying that it
8:55
will be more exciting if players play
8:57
with more variation at the net, but it
8:59
is more exciting when both players on
9:01
court actively look to contest each
9:03
other, force each other to play higher
9:05
quality shots with more deception, more
9:07
speed.
9:09
Now, some might say that it is because
9:11
the game is so fast now that it requires
9:13
players to play the way they do, with
9:15
many referring to how Smash speeds have
9:17
gone from barely breaking 400 kmh to
9:20
over 500 kmh.
9:23
What people should know, however, is
9:25
that technology has indeed changed smash
9:27
speed, but only in the sense of how it's
9:29
recorded. Camera technology has improved
9:32
where it can track a shuttle's speed
9:33
more accurately and more importantly,
9:35
closer to the exact instant that the
9:37
shuttle leaves the racket strings. We
9:39
can confirm that this is the main cause,
9:41
as Yonx did indeed use a 40,000 frames
9:44
per second camera to record their smash
9:46
record, while BWF has been using Hawkeye
9:49
camera systems that don't track as
9:50
precise.
9:53
actual equipment technology has not
9:54
actually changed much. Some people may
9:56
even argue that it's gotten worse, but
9:58
we digress.
10:00
The reason we say this is because you
10:01
can just look at how older rackets like
10:03
the Yonx Dwara Zstrike are still
10:05
preferred by various players or even how
10:08
old rackets from the Yonx Voltric and
10:10
Arcaber lineup are more than usable.
10:13
Most importantly, players like Lee
10:14
Chongi and Lin Dan were playing well
10:18
into their 30s and even slowing the pace
10:21
and still finding success.
10:25
>> There's no way an aging lie should be
10:27
able to increase his smash speed by over
10:29
100 kmh
10:31
given the exponential relation between
10:32
air resistance and speed.
10:35
Plus players that we'll note as remnants
10:38
of the past generation in Victor Axelson
10:40
and Choten Chen have still been able to
10:42
maintain their rankings and level of
10:44
play relative to everyone around despite
10:46
older age.
10:48
So ultimately it really has been the
10:51
current players not showing as much
10:53
skill and badminton IQ as the past
10:57
generation
10:58
at least at the peak level.
11:01
A lower peak isn't entirely the fault of
11:03
the players themselves, though.
11:06
2020 was, of course, when the co
11:10
pandemic happened, and it included
11:12
multiple unfortunate events that took
11:14
strong contenders out of the picture.
11:17
Most notably, players like Kento Mamoda,
11:20
Anthony Ginting,
11:22
and even Shiuchi were supposed to be
11:24
among the main competitors for Axelson
11:26
in the first half of this decade. But
11:28
unfortunate events had led to declines
11:30
in their performances.
11:33
And so there haven't been many smooth
11:37
passing the torch over transitions, if
11:39
you will, and young players like
11:40
Konvidarn and Kodai Naroka end up
11:43
getting slotted into a position of being
11:45
the top player right away.
11:48
These players are no means bad, but they
11:51
haven't had the same opportunity to
11:53
compete against the best of the best to
11:55
eventually overtake them and become the
11:57
top players themselves.
11:59
And ultimately, the difference between
12:02
current top players and the top players
12:03
of the past really lies with their shot
12:05
selection and intention. Game plans
12:08
don't continuously adapt and flow like
12:10
before,
12:12
>> and players don't make nearly as much of
12:13
an effort as they did to contest each
12:16
other and execute their own game plan.
12:21
>> What do you guys think, though? Are the
12:23
top players right now worse than before?
12:27
Let us know in the comments below. And
12:29
as always, leave a like and subscribe so
12:32
you don't miss out on future content.
12:34
And thank you for watching. Heat. Heat.
12:43
[music]
12:49
[music]
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