Is tall agility in defense and playing the flat drives, the final frontier for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty? Reaching their all-time high ranking of World No 4 this week, India’s top-class duo scaled another peak, no doubt. But the final ascent to the summit – as well as ticking the Olympics medal box – is bound to test them on the remaining chinks in the armour.
Satwik is 184 cms, Chirag is 186 cms, and the tall duo benefit from their power strokes from the front and rear of the court. Chirag has one of the fastest reflexes at the net currently, and Satwik’s all-round courtcraft is acknowledged to be amongst the best in the world. Yet, there are 8-0 and 11-0 head to head scorelines against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and the Minions to their names, prompting the question on what more bases are left to be covered.
Tall agility is an eternally evolving science in leagues like the NBA with the predominance of height in basketball. In badminton, where the vertical advantage bestows better reach, as well as ability to hit the steep smashes and clears, it can also impede mobility and agility a tad. This can show up when defending against low slung shuttles close to the floor or in body defense in fast exchanges. Squat bending takes time especially when transitioning into attack for the next stroke.
Satwik and Chirag in action. (Twitter/BAI)
There are notable examples of doubles greats like Hendra Setiawan, who have never allowed their height to come in way of glorious success, and Satwik-Chirag themselves have Danish coach Mathias Boe who understands the predicament, being a tall bloke himself. The sport has seen Vladimir Ivanov, a giant at 201 cms win the All England. And it’s only a matter of time when the Malaysian world champions and the Minions are beaten. Yet you suspect their team of trainers will be on the constant lookout for methods to improve their Tall Agility as the Indians march towards that coveted Olympic medal.
Whether height offers a great advantage in badminton is open to debate. It is equally debatable if tall shuttlers necessarily are low on agility and flexibility. Trainers reckon that anyone who can be trained between 13 and 18 years of age – prime time for improvement – can grow up agile, and boast the quick movement in different directions.
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Typically, agility in defense implies going from standing position to bending down, and in attack is going from standing position to jumping high up. Attack involves flexibility work as well as plyometrics. While strength can be improved upon considerably, they say endurance, flexibility and agility can only go up 20 percent.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, right, and Chirag Shetty, return a shuttlecock to China’s Xiang Yu Ren and Qiang Tan during their men’s doubles final match of the Badminton Swiss Open. (AP/PTI)
It is not known if the likes of Chen Long and Viktor Axelsen, both towering beings were naturally agile or trained for it when young. But their height didn’t come in the way of winning is fairly obvious. If agility work with a view of bending low in defense, starts late, it may take 3-6 months for a trainer to help the athlete move in a different, faster, new way.
At any rate, injury prevention for tall blokes tends to be anticipated early, as they undergo strengthening after considering the body frame and the style of play. Agility work typically goes on throughout the career.
The tall/short debate in badminton is eternal. Akane Yamaguchi is barely 5 feet, and a World champion and World No 1. Viktor Axelsen on the other hand is a giant, who moves efficiently and even gracefully. The Minions are not the tallest blokes around, and yet dominated the scene for years. Badminton has proven to be for all sorts, yet challenges posed to every body type are fairly clear.
It was only a few seasons ago that Chirag Shetty – who bears the tougher responsibility at the net – began his workouts for a low slung stance and bending low defense. Just as well that he has Mathias Boe guiding him given the Danes have a bunch of tall shuttlers who understand the demands of Tall Agility, and have trained their games and matched the Asians.
Body defense and the swivelling torso when peppered with smashes remains the challenge for the Indian duo, as was observed this week against the Maulana – Fikri Indonesian pairing at the Thailand Open Super 500.
Tall agility is a frontier alright, but in this world of Viktor Axelsens and Victor Wembanyamas, it’s in the realm of what’s imminently possible.