Indian badminton league in Aug-2013

Expectations are rising high as the first ever Indian badminton league date draws nearer. The competition will be held from 14-Aug to 31-Aug-2013, starting with the opening ceremony at Delhi and culminating with the finals that will be held in Mumbai.

The presence of all the top-level Indian badminton players as well as top-ranked overseas players is going to ensure that the competition play will be of a very high level. For Indian badminton fans this is a good opportunity to watch the world's best players in action in their home-towns.

The competition is going to have 6 teams, and will be played using a franchise model similar to the one followed in Cricket's IPL league. Each team will have a total of 12 players that will include a maximum of 4 foreign players from top badminton playing countries such as Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Korea and Denmark.

And here's the list of the six IBL teams that will be competing for the prize money which is over Rs.5 crore.

Mumbai Masters
Karnataka Kings
Hyderabad Hotshots
Rajdhani Smashers
Pune Vijetas
Lucknow Warriors

By the way, don't these team names sound similar to their IPL counterparts in cricket?
If you are like me, no doubt at one point or another you must have wondered why Hyderabad cannot be called just as the Hyderabad team and Mumbai just as the Mumbai team.

The matches will be conducted in these 6 cities in the form of home-and-away matches for each of the teams in the 3-week long tournament.

And yes, the Indian badminton league finally seems to have caught the attention of the cricket-crazy media of our country. Newspapers reported that Sachin Tendulkar was interested in buying the Mumbai Masters team, and now I am hearing that Sunil Gavaskar will also be involved in the tournament in some way or the other.

Bollywood has not been left behind either. It's been reported that Aamir Khan, whom I admire, and who apart from being a great actor is a good badminton player is going to be one of the brand ambassadors. The other ambassador for the event is going to be badminton legend Prakash Padukone's little girl Deepika.

There is going to be a fair amount of money involved in the league as a lot of heavy-weight companies have shown interest in buying the franchise teams. Companies such as Dabur, PVP, and Sahara have already got the teams they want.

The base price for each teams had been pegged at Rs.6 crore. That's big money when it comes to badminton. The players are also going to be richer with the top 5 from each team earning 50000 US dollars and the next 5 earning half of that.

Check out this link for more info: http://www.iblschedule.com/ about Indian badminton league.

A good news for us badminton-fans is that all the badminton matches are going to be telecast live on Star Sports.

So here's wishing Indian badminton league a great success!

Badminton Racket First Impressions: Victor Meteor X Jung Jae Sung and Li-Ning Woods N80

I recently got my hands on these two rackets and took them out on a test in this evening's game of singles. While the MX X JJS only had a one-game run, the N80 stood out more and had the opportunity to be tested further. I'll write for both of them anyway, since I've got quite a good experience from the two rackets.

Victor Meteor X JJS

From what little time I had on the court with this (about one game actually), I can probably only say that this racket can smash! When you first hold the racket it didn't feel as head-heavy as you think it is. Even on the swing you're probably looking at an even-balance racket at most. 

But all that chances once the shuttle hits the stringbed. The Meteor X JJS produces a relatively fast swing, which translate to a really satisfying crack at the shuttle when you get behind it. It made me want to smash even more. And I did, though I did notice that the shuttles came off harder than faster. 

Defense seemed to suffer a little, but that one will have to be tested more. On hindsight, the Victor Meteor X Jung Jae Sung felt a little like a Li-Ning Woods N90.

Li-Ning Woods N80

First off, I want to just say that this racket looks like a dream. Gold and silver mixed in just right to form a very elegant piece of art. 

The Li-Ning N80 swings heck of a lot faster than the Meteor JJS. The sword-like design cuts through the air with a very satisfying swish. Add that to the slightly flexible shaft and you've got yourself a pretty good weapon.

I found the N80 quick on the defense but more importantly, wonderful in control. It seemed to be able to put out the shots that I wanted, easily and without my wrist taking too much trouble. Straight drives down the side tramlines were effortless, as were wrist smashes that could cover both sides of the court. 

The racket feels good to hold, and is really quite an experience to play with.

From the get-go it seems like the MX JJS will be more suited for doubles, while the N80 will be a really good singles racket.

Looking forward to reviewing them both. 

To all the readers

I'd like to start this post by thanking all the readers who have come to give my blog a view. I started this blog wanting to share my passion for the sport and the many sorts of equipment and strategies out there.

From the start till now, I've purchased and traded a lot of rackets (the current number I've got stashed in my room stands at 53), and I do hope that I get to review all of them one day.

I thank all who take time to read my writing, all who have asked me questions, all who have given feedback, and for those who have said words of encouragement.

We've crossed 280,000 views, and I've never really expected to so many people come to the site. As we move onwards to explore the wonderful game I'd bed,I think please feel free to let me know if there's anything you'd like to see on this site.

Here's to more fun times! Arthur, out.

New Hotness: Victor Meteor Jung Jae Sung

Yet another limited edition racket in my collection :)

Took a bite at an opportunity that arose from the BC Forums and got this one at a reasonable price. Thanks to the kind soul (come to think of it I never got your name) who passed this beauty on, and all the best for your driving lessons!

First Impressions and Review soon (I hope).

Source: http://www.yumo.ca

Badminton Racket Review: Yonex Armortec 900 Technique

First impressions here.

This one has been sitting around for quite a bit because there's really too much rackets in my bag to want to bring this out for a test. I've also recently went back to the trusty old Yonex Nanogy 98 and have been putting the Armortec 900 Technique until I can get the strings replaced.

But I decided against it and took the racket out for a swing with its current string. Surprisingly this racket is probably one of the few rackets that can bring out a powerful smash from the NGB99. I had a very good impression of the racket, and didn't have to bring out my spare racket for the day until the grip gave way from too much smashing.

Note. This review is my opinion of the racket from my use. Take this with a pinch of salt since we all play the game differently. I'm here to tell you, in as much accuracy as I can, how my games went with this racket. Comments welcome!

Ok here goes.

Yonex Armortec 900 Technique
Est. Dry Weight: 97g (3U)
Grip Size: G5
Balance: Head-Heavy
Stiffness: Stiff
Strings: Yonex Nanogy 99 @ 25lbs

I recommend this racket for doubles play.

Defense
I rate defense above all in the game of badminton, and this racket does not disappoint. It's got a fast swing for a head-heavy racket, and the blocks that come off the racket are pretty good. I was able to take on most of the smashes coming at me, the Yonex Armortec 900 Technique providing enough power behind the lifts and stability off the blocks.

One thing I found really enjoyable with this racket was intercepting flat smashes with a drive defense. Those who play with me regularly will know is one of my favorite moves, and the AT900T really pulls this off well. It may not be as fast as the other lighter rackets I have, which makes blocking at the net a little more cumbersome, but it's fast enough to be lethal if you get yourself a flat enough smash to turn around.

Attack
Head-heavy racket, fast swing speed, the rest is up to your deduction.

Even at 25lbs, the racket was able to pack quite a punch to its smashes from the back court. I had a lot of fun thumping down the smashes and throwing in a few angles here and there.

Even with the overhead smashes the Armortec 900 Technique performs admirably. I could get quite a bit of power into the overheads, even more than my usual amount.

Drives with this racket are enjoyable as well, though not as brutal as those you get from the Voltrics. Taking aim at the body and whipping in a good one seems easy enough to want to do over and over.

Another thing I noticed, and I'm giving the strings quite a bit of the credit here, are the excellent level drop shots that I can get off this racket. The Yonex Armortec 900 Technique is able to take shuttles late enough and still keep it close enough to the net for a threatening soft shot.

I seldom write that much about a racket's attack, but the AT900T's really made it enjoyable to take the offensive with.

Control
This is one more for the strings since I think the NBG99 are really good for control (they're marketed that way to begin with - extra braided to get that extra grip on the shuttle).

Quite a number if higher-skill shots I performed today were pulled off without much punishment from the opponent. The weight transfer in the racket felt just right, whether I was going for the cross-court drop shot off a good serve return or if I was a little late in getting to that flat lift and I wanted to give a drop shot down the channel.

Lifts to the back court were done without a glitch, and the excellent defense from this racket made me feel confident that I could take on most smashes and drops.

Even with the long clears, there isn't much drag from the racket when performing an overhead, and that allows you to take to the next position quickly.

Good stuff.

Looks
White has always been a popular color with shuttlers, and the Yonex Armortec 900 Technique is no less classier. Alternating bands of white and grey line the base of the head frame, leading to the T-Joint where the boxy font of the Armortec series comes in.

The 3 and 9 o'clock for the head frame adds to the color with signature red and black, rounding up at the top with the customary "technique" typography right at the top against a silver-grey coat.

Yonex Armortec 900 Technique

Defense: 9

Attack: 9

Control: 9

Looks: 8

K. Srikanth wins SCG Thailand Open 2013 badminton tournament

Promising young badminton player K. Srikanth of India, won his first ever major international title today, winning the gold medal in the men's singles event at the SCG Thailand Open-2013 Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, held at the Nimibutr stadium at Bangkok in Thailand from 04-June-2013 to 09-June-2013.

Before the start of the men's singles final, not many would have expected such a surprising outcome. After all, the experienced Boonsak Ponsana is ranked no.7 in the world and was the top seed at this tournament. On top of that, playing at the Thai Open final, meant that he would get plenty of support from the home crowd.
On the other hand, Srikanth's world ranking was no.45 at the start of the tournament (and current ranking is no.61) and he was seeded 13th here at this tournament. A big difference, so to speak.

However as it eventually turned out, Kidambi Srikanth defeated Boonsak Ponsana in the finals in just 33 minutes and two straight games by a score of 21-16, 21-12 to clinch his first ever GP Gold title, and a well-deserved prize cheque worth 9000 US dollars, to go along with it.

20-year old Srikanth is from Hyderabad, represents Andhra Pradesh state at the domestic tournaments in India, and is currently ranked no.3 within India as per the rankings published by BAI (Badminton Association of India). On the international level, he has made rapid progress in the last 6 months, first breaking into the top 100 and then into the list of top 50 players in the world.


Women's Singles results:

Saina disappoints this time

Top seeded Saina Nehwal could not repeat her last year's performance this time around at the Thailand Open-2013. She was defeated in the quarter-finals by 8th seed Juan Gu of Singapore.

Last year Saina had done better at this tournament when she had went on to win the title defeating Ratchanok Inthanon in the finals. Here's the link to her previous year's performance at this tournament.
  Saina wins Thailand Open 2012 badminton tournament.

Inthanon grabs the title at Thailand Open badminton 2013

The women's singles title at the Thailand Open 2013 was won by Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand who defeated her own country-mate Busanan Ongbumrungpan in the tough final match that lasted for 3 games. Inthanon finally won by a score of 20-22, 21-19, 21-13.
So, she has done one step better this time. Last year it was Silver for her, and this time it's a Gold medal.

Badminton Racket First Impressions: Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost

This racket grew on me. The longer I looked at it the more I wanted to buy it. And now that I did, I'm glad to say that the Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost has performed admirably in its first test.

With more of my singles game played using this racket, I was able to get a good feel of what the players on the forum were talking about.

There were mixed reviews on this racket - I had a friend telling me how this racket will seriously screw up our swing and hitting, what with the light weight of the racket and the slightly hollow feel. There were people on the forum who were raving about how wonderful this racket is.

And so now, after a good two-hour session of singles, I'm able to give a little comment on the nicely designed racket.

Dubbed Yonex's lightest racket to date, the Flash Boost comes in at a modest 76g unstrung. The people at the marketing department calls this weight category the F weight.

When you first hold the racket, it indeed felt like you ere holding nothing at all. I am familiar with this sensation however, of Karakal BN60 fame.

First swings with this racket produced quite  satisfactory experience. The shuttle was able to come off nicely from the swing and the shots produced were solid and well-placed.

On to the games, and the feel actually got better. Smashes were nice and steep, requiring next to no energy to pull off. I found myself at ease quite bit throughout the matches.

Light weight rackets usually favour the backhand stroke, but the ArcSaber Flash Boost seemed to come of a little different. I had difficulty pulling off a good backhand clear, and I attribute it to the swing speed of the racket.

Defense was great, however, and I found myself taking a step back from being too anxious. It's a good thing, and the returns were of high calibre.

Another notable problem came through when I wanted to use the racket to block a smash. Often times the weight of the racket doesn't allow you to get decent energy into the hit, resulting in disappointing net hits.

But that won't spoil my mood. The Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost gives me a good feel so far, and I'm going to try it out against a nice doubles to see how fast I can go with this.

Review eventually.