Best badminton match in 2007!
I had a splendid badminton session today. It didn't start so well when I felt a bit of pain in my wrist as I warmed up, but as the minutes wore on the pain seemed to go away.
As usual we have the doubles games and switched combinations periodically. That bit was erratic and not always inspirational. At the end of the session (normally 7.30pm) I asked Puru if he wanted to stay on for some singles. He is the one whom I consider to be the most technically able player among those of us who regularly play. Rob is the most difficult player because he combines superb technique with a brilliant badminton mind, but his smashes, powerful and accurate as they are, do not quite come up to Puru's standard.
So we decided to have a couple of games, especially since this was going to be the last session for this summer, and he was going to leave the UK quite soon... Now the spectacle was beginning...
First set - I was instantly hammered. My shots were all over the place, I wasn't hitting the shuttle far enough, and I was placing them out or short or too high over the net. I was about 0-7 down before I got into some sort of rhythm, and with some good serves and still a decent singles game plan left in my mind I manged to get back to 7-7. Between that and going 10-9 up I had to endure a lot of pressure as he focussed on my weak backhand, raining smash after smash towards that. And I must tell you his smashes are accurate- not too far away from the inner line. I got a few lucky breaks when I returned four or five of his smashes on the trot and won those rallies. As our energy drained from us we started making mistakes, but I was in a slightly better condition, plus I had the singles mind while he hadn't played singles for some time. With a better awareness of the court I was able to absorb the pressure and clawed my way up to 12-9, where we stagnated and exchanged service numerous times. After a bit more action I wrapped it up at 15-9, an excellent result although it did seem fortuitous.
Full of confidence, I started the second set and was mostly in the lead, though not by much. However the turning point came at 12-10 up, when I was unable to advance after a long time, and ventured out with a few smashes on service receipt. Those didn't work and I lost a game I had been leading till 12. At 12-14 I wrestled back service with an excellent disguised drop coming off a massive leap, but the next shots were too hot to handle and I went off on 12-15.
Water break.
These had been the most intensive singles games I have played since those battles against Roger, but there was more urgency here because I wanted to do well against a very good player, plus this was about the last time we could be playing together. Alas, in the final set, I was bereft of options when smash after smash rained down on my backhand once again. I wasn't lifting it too well, but take nothing away from his smashes. They were solid, all the way from the back court, and there's nothing much one can do about that. Except return them, or course. At 2-13 down the porter arrived to lock up and we called it quits, but I was once again getting out of ideas against him. Obviously I would have wanted to alter my game but I'd opted to train my back court smashes and that proved to be my undoing as it is very difficult to retrieve good drops after smashing from the back.
Two things I realised I did not do: play more net shots - straightforward ones, just returned over the net, and try to clear on my backhand to the back court. Also I did not focus on smashing cross-court, which is somewhat of an occasional singles necessity (of course it is used a lot in mixed doubles).
Maybe we can squeeze in another session soon on our own.
Signing off.
As usual we have the doubles games and switched combinations periodically. That bit was erratic and not always inspirational. At the end of the session (normally 7.30pm) I asked Puru if he wanted to stay on for some singles. He is the one whom I consider to be the most technically able player among those of us who regularly play. Rob is the most difficult player because he combines superb technique with a brilliant badminton mind, but his smashes, powerful and accurate as they are, do not quite come up to Puru's standard.
So we decided to have a couple of games, especially since this was going to be the last session for this summer, and he was going to leave the UK quite soon... Now the spectacle was beginning...
First set - I was instantly hammered. My shots were all over the place, I wasn't hitting the shuttle far enough, and I was placing them out or short or too high over the net. I was about 0-7 down before I got into some sort of rhythm, and with some good serves and still a decent singles game plan left in my mind I manged to get back to 7-7. Between that and going 10-9 up I had to endure a lot of pressure as he focussed on my weak backhand, raining smash after smash towards that. And I must tell you his smashes are accurate- not too far away from the inner line. I got a few lucky breaks when I returned four or five of his smashes on the trot and won those rallies. As our energy drained from us we started making mistakes, but I was in a slightly better condition, plus I had the singles mind while he hadn't played singles for some time. With a better awareness of the court I was able to absorb the pressure and clawed my way up to 12-9, where we stagnated and exchanged service numerous times. After a bit more action I wrapped it up at 15-9, an excellent result although it did seem fortuitous.
Full of confidence, I started the second set and was mostly in the lead, though not by much. However the turning point came at 12-10 up, when I was unable to advance after a long time, and ventured out with a few smashes on service receipt. Those didn't work and I lost a game I had been leading till 12. At 12-14 I wrestled back service with an excellent disguised drop coming off a massive leap, but the next shots were too hot to handle and I went off on 12-15.
Water break.
These had been the most intensive singles games I have played since those battles against Roger, but there was more urgency here because I wanted to do well against a very good player, plus this was about the last time we could be playing together. Alas, in the final set, I was bereft of options when smash after smash rained down on my backhand once again. I wasn't lifting it too well, but take nothing away from his smashes. They were solid, all the way from the back court, and there's nothing much one can do about that. Except return them, or course. At 2-13 down the porter arrived to lock up and we called it quits, but I was once again getting out of ideas against him. Obviously I would have wanted to alter my game but I'd opted to train my back court smashes and that proved to be my undoing as it is very difficult to retrieve good drops after smashing from the back.
Two things I realised I did not do: play more net shots - straightforward ones, just returned over the net, and try to clear on my backhand to the back court. Also I did not focus on smashing cross-court, which is somewhat of an occasional singles necessity (of course it is used a lot in mixed doubles).
Maybe we can squeeze in another session soon on our own.
Signing off.
posted by cheez~ at
10:05 pm
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