Indonesia is special in the world of badminton. Badminton success is celebrated with passion. Failures are tolerated but do not sit well with the most fanatic Indonesian badminton fans.
Badminton is the national sport of Indonesia. Indonesian badminton players are celebrated, admired, and adored with wonderful enthusiasm nationwide. For example, when Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the Indonesian archipelago erupted with joy. A national celebration ensued. The president declared the first-ever Indonesian Olympic gold medal in any sport as an early birthday gift (ahead of Indonesian Independence Day).
Badminton enthusiasts around the world can’t help but admire, perhaps even envy, the level of popularity badminton has reached in Indonesia. It is what many other countries are striving for.
Indonesian badminton fans celebrate the sport and their national players
The fantastic support from Indonesian fans, for example, when tournaments are played at the historic Istora Senayan (now called Istora Gelora Bung Karno) in Jakarta, is unparalleled. The atmosphere is like none other. The best part is the involvement of fans even when non-Indonesian players battle it out on the court.
Elsewhere, local fans engage with reserved modesty when foreign players compete against each other. The difference is what the affection is hinged upon. In Indonesia, it shines through that it is for the love of the sport. First and foremost. In most other badminton countries fans’ involvement often has much to do with national pride and support of countrymen, and much less to do with the love of the game.
In my opinion, Indonesian badminton fans are currently the best fans in the world. They’ve proved their intense love for the sport over and over again.
This begs the question, who are the “best badminton fans in the world” contenders? Will fans in Malaysia, India, Thailand, or perhaps France, step up their efforts?
In the meantime, let’s continue to appreciate badminton fans all over the world. They are the cog in the wheel that will help secure a better future for the sport of badminton.
Note: the season final was referred to as BWF World Tour Finals (from 2018) and BWF Super Series Masters Final (2008-2017), as well as HSBC World Tour Final. From 1983 to 2001 the season finals were called The World Badminton Grand Prix Finals. Get more like this, subscribe to the Global Badminton Community Newsletter
2022 Bangkok AND 2021 Bali: Viktor Axelsen, Denmark
Viktor Axelsen won the BWF Super Series final for the fourth time and for the second time in a row.
The semifinals were a showdown between: – Anthony Ginting overcame Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-15/11-21/21-18 – Axelsen faced Kodai Naraoka of Japan and won 21-23/21-19/21-18
In the final the tall Dane overpowered Ginting winning in straight sets 21-13/21-14
The BWF World Tour Finals 2021 for men’s singles badminton took place in Bali, Indonesia.
Following the initial group stage, the semifinals were played as follows: – Konvolut Vitidsarn of Thailand overcame Lee Zia Jia of Malaysia in two sets – Lakshya Sen of India lost to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets.
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen won the final in straight sets against Konvolut Vitidsarn from Thailand. This was Viktor Axelsen’s third BWF tour final win. He also won in Dubai in 2016 and 2017.
The BWF World Tour Finals 2020 took place in Pak Kret, Thailand. Following the initial group stage, the semifinals turned out to be between players from just two countries. Namely Denmark and Chinese Taipei.
Semifinal 1: Viktor Axelsen, Denmark defeated Chou, Chinese Taipei in straight sets
Semifinal 2: Anders Antonsen, Denmark overcame Wang Tsu-Wei, Chinese Taipei
The final was fought between Denmark’s two highest-ranked badminton players. Following an exhilarating match, Anders Antonsen came out victorious, winning the season final in 3 sets. (read this about Anders Antonsen moves to Dubai)
2019 China: Kento Momota, Japan
The BWF World Tour Finals 2019 took place in Guangzhou, China.
In the semifinals, Kento Momota won in straight sets against Wang Tzu-Wei of Chinese Taipei. In the other semifinal, Anthony Ginting of Indonesia overcame Chen Long of China.
Ginting won the first set of the final, but superstar Kento Momota prevailed by winning the next two sets. This was Kento Momota’s second tour final win. He also won in Dubai in 2015.
The BWF World Tour Finals took place in Guangzhou, China in 2018.
In the first semifinal, Shi Yuqi ousted Sameer Verma in three close sets. In the second semifinal showdown, Japan’s Kento Momota swiftly exited Son Wan-ho of South Korea in two sets.
The final came down to a much-awaited match between Shi Yuqi and Kento Momota. Following an impressive performance, Shi Yuqi emerged victorious after winning by a big margin in straight sets.
2017 and 2016 Dubai, UAE: Viktor Axelsen Denmark
Viktor Axelsen won the super series final in Dubai in 2016 and 2017.
In 2017 Axelsen lost to Shi Yuqi in the group stage but won in two sets against Shi in the semifinal. In the second semifinal, Son Wan-ho battled Lee Chong Wei. The latter won and faced Viktor Axelsen in the final. In a well-played final, the 8th-seeded Dane overcame the 4th-seeded Malaysian in three sets.
Unusually, in 2016 three European badminton players made it to the season final; Denmarks 1st seed Jan Jørgensen, 5th seed Viktor Axelsen, and 6th seed Marc Zwiebler from Germany. Following the group stage, the semifinals were a match between Tian Houwei from China and Jan Ø. Jørgensen in one semifinal. In the second tour season final, Viktor Axelsen faced Son Wan-ho from Korea. Axelsen won in two sets and Tian Houwei in three.
Denmark’s future badminton superstar won the title after three sets of good badminton.
2015 Dubai, UAE: Kento Momota, Japan
The 2015 BWF Super Series Final took place at Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
As always, 8 players qualified for the tournament. Following the group stage, four players were ready to play semifinals. 1st seed Chen Long, China, lost to 4th seed Viktor Axelsen in the first semifinal. In the second semifinal, 2nd seed Momota overpowered 3rd seed Jan Ø. Jørgensen from Denmark.
Winning the final against his Danish opponent, Kento Momota his first BWF Super Series Final Title in 2015.
2014 Dubai, UAE: Chen Long, China
In the 2014 BWF Super Series Final, eight players qualified to compete. 1st seed Chen Long came into the tournament as the favorite to win the whole thing. And he did not disappoint.
In the semifinal, Chen Long won against Srikanth Kidambi of India in straight sets. The other semifinal was a match between two Danes. Hans-Kristian Vittinghus ousted Jan Ø. Jørgensen in straight sets.
At the group stage, Chen Long beat HK Vittinghus in three sets. But in the final, there was never any doubt about the outcome. Chen Long won his second tour final in 2 sets. (He also won in Shenzhen in 2012.)
In Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysian badminton fans hoped to see local hero and 1st seed Lee Chong Wei on top of the podium. LCW, as he is affectionately referred to, did the deed.
In the group stage, Lee Chong Wei won all 3 matches. He played a very close group match (23-21, 24-22) against Jan Ø. Jørgensen of Denmark. The semifinal draw set LCW up against the Danish opponent once again. This time the Malaysian superstar left no doubt. He won comfortably in two sets.
In the second semifinal, Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia came up against Kenichi Tago of Japan. Sugiarto won the semifinal in three sets and was ready to face Lee in the final.
Playing in front of a large number of Malaysian badminton fans, LCW showed his best skills and won the final, and thereby the season final, for the fourth time. (To this day, Lee Chong Wei is still the only player to have won the super series final four times.)
2012 Shenzhen: Chen Long, China
Chen Long finished in first place on the group stage and drew Hu Yun from Hong Kong in the first semifinal. A match he won in straight sets. The second semifinal was a match between Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Du Pengyu of China. The Chinese player won and was ready for an all-Chinese final.
In the final, Chen Long didn’t have much trouble and won in straight sets.
Lin Dan faced Peter Gade of Denmark in the semifinal. A match he won in two sets. The other semifinal was between Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Chen Long of China. As it happened, the final was to be a battle between two top Chinese players. Lin Dan proved his strength by winning the final against Chen Long in straight sets.
2008-2010 3 consecutive wins for Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia 2008: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia 2009: Johor Bahru, Malaysia 2010: New Taipei, Taiwan
In 2010, Lee Chong Wei faced Boonsak Ponsana in the semifinal. The other semifinal was against Denmark’s Peter Gade and China’s Chen Long. Having won his semifinal, Lee Chong Wei massacred Peter Gade in the final to win his third super series final in a row.
In 2009, Lee Chong Wei was up against Denmark’s Peter Gade in the semifinal. The other semifinal was a match between Bao Chunlai of China and Park Sung-hwan of Korea. In the final LCW beat Park Sung-hwan to win his second super series title.
In 2008, Lee Chong Wei was very convincing, winning his semifinal against legendary Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. The other semifinal was a match between Peter Gade of Denmark and Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia. The Dane and LCW were to play for the title. Lee won by a huge margin.
Quality sleep is vital for your overall physical and mental health. What’s more, it can enhance your athletic performance. This is also true for badminton players. On the other hand, if your body and mind are deprived of getting the appropriate amount of rest, chances are that it will affect your badminton performance dramatically.
IOC (that’s the International Olympic Committee) has developed a free “sleep to compete” course specifically for athletes. The well-structured, easy-to-follow course provides valuable insights you can use to improve your sleep. The course is authored by renowned experts including polysomnographic technologists – also known as sleep scientists 😉
This IOC program will help you recognize common sleep-related problems and provide you with tools and strategies to help you sleep better. Discover the benefits of restorative sleep to both your performance and overall well-being.
If you often travel long distances to participate in badminton tournaments, this course will be particularly helpful. You may have experienced how winding down on your first night at a new place can be difficult. The course provides you with tools to help you deal with such situations.
Interesting facts about improving sleepto increase performance effectiveness – A Stanford study of men’s basketball players who extended their sleep to 10 hours a night found several positive outcomes. The players ran faster in both half-court and full-court sprints. Their shooting improved by at least 9% for both free throws and three-point shots. The athletes also reported improved physical and mental well-being. – Another study showed Decreased accuracy. After sleep deprivation, male and female tennis players had decreased serve accuracy of up to 53% when compared to performance after normal sleep.
Badminton Speak often recommends courses and other learning opportunities. All are relevant to badminton players. As a rule, these are genuine endorsements based on a thorough review of the material available.
This particular recommendation is for an IOC (International Olympic Committee) learning product. We generally find the quality of learning material and instructional videos from the IOC to be of exceptionally good quality.
Are you considering a career in sports management? If so, you might qualify for a BWF scholarship to enroll in the Bachelor of International Sports Management degree program. There are several scholarships available for qualified badminton players each year.
The course is structured with athletes in mind. The online Bachelor’s program can be completed in three years of full-time study or up to ten years of part-time study. The course is offered by Federation University (Australia) in collaboration with the World Academy of Sports. You may qualify for a scholarship from BWF.
A career in sports management offers a host of opportunities. This degree can lead to roles in business development, marketing, analytics, project management, event management, different digital marketing roles, or becoming a professional player-manager. Scholarships from BWF helps take the financial burden off the shoulders of badminton athletes.
Players such as Australian National player Gronya Somerville and Georges Julien Paul – a men’s singles player from Mauritius – have completed the program on a full or partial scholarship.
Dual career scholarship for post-graduate studies
Apart from the Bachelor’s program, BWF also offers a scholarship for post-graduate studies. This program is also done in collaboration with the World Academy of Sports.
“I did my degree in marketing management. I was looking for another course as I cannot start working now, and I want to build up more of my educational side. So when I stop playing, I have a backup with my studies. I tried to enroll (for the BWF-WaOS program), and I was really happy and lucky to get the scholarship,” said Paul, currently ranked No.103, who has enrolled in the September 2022 batch.
“Mauritius is quite small and it’s not very easy to be a full-time athlete as we aren’t getting enough funds to be full-time athletes. So every athlete in Mauritius needs to have a backup plan, in terms of studies. So this is my backup plan.”
The IOC Athlete 365 is an online learning platform for athletes and their entourage. Developed by the International Olympic Committee, the platform is free to access. At Badmintonspeak.com we’ve found a lot of great resources on the platform. While some of the content is very specific to Olympians, there is also a lot of content, which may benefit badminton players at any level.
Badminton players (and their support team) might find these online learning topics of interest:
– Sports medicine – understanding sports injuries – Physical preparation – learn how to reach your peak physical condition – Sports psychology – learn how to manage emotions and deal with setbacks – Sleep to compete – manage your sleep – Mentoring – how to connect with a mentor – Career planning – how to prepare for a life after sport
There are also courses available dealing with sports management, business, coaching, and much more. In addition, you can learn about the different IOC academic programs for athletes and coaches.
The IOC 365 offers a lot of tips relevant to badminton players. Here are just a few articles relevant to badminton players (and athletes involved in any other sport):
Peter Gade, the former world number 1 from Denmark and a current Yonex Legend, recently introduced a new online initiative. For years he has been running the Yonex Peter Gade Academy (YPGA) in Denmark. The YPGA is accessible only to select players. But Peter Gade’s new online initiative is for everybody.
With a monthly investment of less than 6 US dollars pr. month, you can learn directly from Peter Gade. For players, this seems like a great opportunity. For coaches, a godsend.
Michael Leander from Badminton Speak had the opportunity to review the online platform. Read on to get the low-down on the legendary Peter Gade’s online portal.
Learn badminton techniques from a world-class coach
The best feature of the Peter Gade online badminton portal has to be the coach himself. Most people know about Peter Gade’s long stint as world number 1 (men’s singles). But many aren’t familiar with Peter’s accomplishments in the coaching role.
Rumour has it that his tenure as coach of the French National Badminton Team was very successful. Certainly, players from France are slowly, but surely, making inroads on the European circuit. Some are even making a name for themselves on the world tour.
On many occasions, I’ve observed Peter Gade doing his deed as a coach at the Yonex Peter Gade Academy. And make no mistake. This guy means business. When he was still active on the badminton world circuit, he was known for his professionalism and relentless approach to all aspects of the sport. That hasn’t changed.
In his role as a coach, he is not there to pass the time, but clearly demonstrates how passionate he is about developing players. Players I’ve spoken to say he is tough, but his “medicine” works. Knowing Peter Gade relatively well, I can confirm that he truly is passionate about helping badminton players develop. That is one of the reasons behind his investment in the Peter Gade Online Academy.
When you become a member of Peter Gade Online Academy, you can look forward to a host of short, easily understood instructional videos. The instructional videos mostly feature Peter Gade. You’ll hear the Yonex legendexplain techniques and offer concrete, easy-to-implement advice. These badminton video tutorials are published monthly.
In addition to the monthly videos, the online platform offers regular updates. The current update archive includes content about nutrition, a tutorial for doubles defense by legendary Lee Yong Dae (Korea), and updates related to Peter Gade’s experiences in the world of badminton.
The platform also aims at creating a vibrant badminton community. An online habitat where like-minded can share ideas, ask questions, and receive suggestions or advice. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, the current members seem to be interested in taking an active part in the dialogue. And that’s a good thing.
Is Peter Gade online academy worth the money?
It depends on you!
First and foremost, I am going to assume that anyone paying for the monthly subscription has a genuine interest in improving their game. If that’s your aim, the subscription is a small price to pay.
Secondly, if you are prepared to listen to Peter Gade’s advice and then go practice to implement what you’ve learned, that’s an absolute prerequisite for getting value for your money.
Finally, if you appreciate chatting with other badminton lovers, that’s a nice bonus. Who knows, you may meet new badminton friends on the platform. And the value of a new friend, well, that’s priceless, don’t you agree?
Although not available to the general public, Peter Gade charges around USD 400 pr. hour for 1-on-1 training. So getting access to this vast knowledge and experience for a small monthly fee seems to be a good deal.
Badminton analytics can be very helpful to players and coaches at all levels. In this review, we’ll introduce you to a new AI-driven (Artificial Intelligence-driven) smartphone app. It was developed by a team of badminton enthusiasts.
For many years, player or game analysis was done by coaches (or parents) observing and analyzing live games. In recent years, players and coaches have been using video analysis to some extent. Video analysis is beneficial for analyzing one’s own strengths and weaknesses. But it is also a helpful tool for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of opponents. See an example of video badminton analytics here.
Needless to say, acquiring video footage can, at times, be difficult. And even if it is possible to get a good number of hours of match recording done, analyzing video footage manually is quite a task.
The Moneyball principle applied to badminton
Are you familiar with the movie Moneyball (Brad Pitt/Jonah Hill)? The movie tells the story of Oakland Athletics Baseball and how they built a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players.
Making data readily available to badminton players, coaches, analysts, and teams represents a real opportunity for performance improvement. Especially if data is presented so that it is quick to understand which actions or changes to implement.
Former world number 32 (MD) Shlok Ramchandran seems firm in his belief that a data revolution in badminton is much needed. In this article on Scroll.in – he argues his case. He believes that making relevant data available and sharing it in visual format will also improve the TV viewer experience, citing tennis and golf as role models.
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