Chong Wei back to winning ways

Sunday, October 30, 2011 - Badmintonphoto

Lee Chong Wei cemented his position as the No. 1 shuttler in the world when he won the US$200,000 Yonex French Open on Sunday – his seventh title of the year and 39^th of his career.

Using precision smashes and great defence, Chong Wei (right), denied Japan’s Kenichi Tago the opportunity to win his first OSIM BWF World Superseries title with a devastating 21-16, 21-11 victory in 39 minutes.

It was his eighth victory over Tago from as many matches and the second time Chong Wei has defeated the Japanese ace in a Superseries final, the first coming in last year’s All England tournament in Birmingham.

It was also belated birthday present for the Malaysian, who turned 29 on Oct 21. His victory in Paris means he has now won an incredible 20 Superseries titles from 48 such tournaments since 2007.

Chong Wei won three Superseries titles in 2007, twice more in 2008, four times in 2009, six in 2010 and so far in 2011, he has won in Malaysia, England, India, Indonesia and France, with two more OSIM BWF World Superseries events next month in Hong Kong and China.

His other two titles in 2011 came at the BWF Super Series Finals 2010 which was played in January and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold in May. He also won his National Grand Prix title for the 10^th consecutive time last month.

On Sunday, Tago tried to match Chong Wei’s aggression but found it difficult to crack his opponent’s defence. He managed to stay in the game until 12-12, only for Chong Wei to up the pace and win nine of the next 13 points.

Tago was the aggressor once again in the second game and took a 5-3 lead when once again, the world No. 1 found several extra gears in his arsenal to zoom ahead, winning 14 of the next 15 points, including nine straight unanswered winners to take a 17-6 lead.

Chong Wei then eased off the gas, allowing Tago to win another five points before he wrapped up the match.

Chen Long just away from creating History in world Badminton

China’s Chen Long is just five wins away from creating history.

                     The world No. 3 emulated 10 great shuttlers who have won three consecutive OSIM BWF World Superseries tournaments when he captured the Denmark Open for the first time on Sunday.

He will have the opportunity to go one step better when he competes in the Yonex French Open, which started with the qualifying rounds on Wednesday.The 22-year-old former world junior champion will began his quest for a fourth consecutive Superseries crown against Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and is slated to meet world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei (left), in the semi-finals.Having beaten the Malaysian in the Japan and Denmark Open finals, Chen Long will surely start as the favourite to make it three wins out of three on Saturday.If Chen Long does continue his winning streak against Chong Wei, it would mean he will be the first player this year to stop the Malaysian from reaching a final this year.
    Since January, Chong Wei has played in 10 international Open tournaments and reached the final in each of them, winning six times –BWF Super Series Finals 2010 and Malaysia Open Superseries (January), All England Superseries (March), India Open Superseries and Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (May) and Indonesia Open Superseries Premier (June).He was runners-up at the Korea Open Superseries (January), World Championships (August), Japan Open (September) and last week’s Denmark Open.Having not won a tournament since June will make Chong Wei a hungry man, but it remains to be seen if he has found a way to beat Chen Long, who has bounced back admirably sChina’s Chen Long is just five wins away from creating history.ince his shocking opening round loss to unheralded Guatemalan player Kevin Cordon at the World Championships

Solibad-Badminton without Borders

Peter Gade joins SOLIBAD – Badminton without Borders 

    Gade 34 year old Dane had already done a lot for the Worldwide Foundation, which aims to help underprivileged children all around the world, through projects which are badminton related for some and not for others. Last year, Gade had given his winning shirt but also his Gold Medal from the 2010 European Championships to collect money for the project “1000 rackets for Haiti”, a program jointly coordinated by Peace and Sport to help children from Haiti to forget the trauma of the 2009 earthquake.

In March 2011, Gade then joined a special event held in Geneva – “A night with stars” featuring other Solibad Ambassadors, Pi Hongyan, Lee Yong Dae, Nathan Robertson, Park Joo Bong amongst others, where he gave an exhibition show with all benefits going to Solibad

“It is a great thing that people are united behind a good cause and that Solibad is able to bring together the whole badminton community, from top stars to leisure players. I do believe that all together, we can make a difference. I will try my best to play my part for Solibad and look forward to working with other Ambassadors to promote the projects to come” said the Dane, who has been an Ambassador for Red Barnet – Save the Children Denmark

“Peter has been helping Solibad from the very start and we are very honored that he accepted the offer to become our “Special Ambassador” to Solibad. He is a role model for the youngsters by the way he has handled his career and has a big heart. It will be a big boost for us to have him on our side. He’s got a vision and great ideas to share with us” said Solibad Founder Raphael Sachetat

“It’s a great pleasure for us to have him join our family as he’s one of the high profile of the sport on top of a great human being” said Pi Hongyan, Solibad’s Global Ambassador.

Gade to feature in Copenhagen’s Flashmob

Gade’s joining couldn’t come as a better timing as the Charity foundation is launching its first “Solibad Day” where – for its first edition on June 5th 2011 – aims to gather “flashmobs” all around the world. A flashmob is a spontaneous gathering of people in public places performing a similar choreography to make a point and deliver a message. Solibad hopes to raise awareness for its projects and the sport in general though this unique event, which will likely be breaking the world record as already 60 cities from 40 different countries and all 5 continents will be joining the event in the most iconic places, from Los Angeles, Singapore, Paris, London, Jakarta, Rio Sydney to unexpected spots like Israel, Nicaragua or in front of the Mont Blanc – Europe’s tallest summit for the world’s highest flashmob.

And of course, Denmark will be joining the event as well on June 5th, near the symbolic Tivoli Gardens, where Peter Gade will be joining Jan O Jorgensen the Solibad Ambassador for Denmark as well as many other players from the National team, who have all vowed to give a hand to the foundation. “I will be there on June 5th at home in Copenhagen and I hope that many people will join us, in Denmark but also all over the world” added Gade.

Jaseel P Ismail

Jaseel P. Ismail

Date of Birth of Jaseel is 9/16/1972

Birth place of Jaseel is Calicut

Height of Jessel is 180 

 During his long career, Jaseel won five doubles titles at Indian National Badminton Championships, partnering George Thomas, Vijaydeep Singh, and Vincent Lobo. He also won two National mixed-doubles titles with Manjusha Kanwar as partner. Jaseel, partnering V. Diju, won the doubles title at Indian Asian Satellite 2004 held at Hyderabad. In the final the pair beat Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas 15-9, 15-1. In the same year, Jaseel and Diju pair also reached the semifinals at Cheers Asian Satellite, Singapore. They upset second seeds Kovit Phisetsarasai and Nitipong Saengsila of Thailand in the men's doubles quarterfinals with a score of 15-7, 15-8. In the semifinal they went down fighting to third-seeded Lin Woon Fui andMohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari of Malaysia.

Read more about Jaseel-Article from Hindu.

When Jaseel P. Ismail first played for India, E.K. Nayanar was the Chief Minister of Kerala; A.R. Rahman was just a composer of ad jingles; Rahul Dravid hadn't made his Test debut; and Aishwarya Rai was planning to become an architect.

Jaseel is still representing the Indian badminton team in international tournaments, 16 years after he played for the junior national team in the Netherlands. It's supreme self-confidence and the pride in playing for the country that keep him going. He remains one of India's finest ever doubles players. He played in each of the doubles finals in the last 12 years and was the champion - in the company of Vijaydeep Singh first and then Vincent Lobo - on four occasions.

But it's the silver medal he won at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 that he cherishes the most. "And I would always remember being part of the Indian teams that qualified for the Thomas Cup in 2000 and this year, says Jaseel, who is working as manager at Indian Oil Corporation, Kochi.

"That I have been a regular member of the Indian teams at the Thomas Cup and the World Championships is something I would always be proud about."

Not that he doesn't have any regrets. "I know that I haven't fulfilled my potential as a singles player," he confesses. "Though injuries and the considerable success I have had in doubles are the main reasons for that, I admit that I was a bit laid back too."

Jaseel is a bit worried that all the good players Kerala has produced since him shares the same trait. "These young kids should give singles a decent try before turning full-time doubles players. You know I used to play the singles till I was 23, and I had won the National junior boys' singles title in 1989."

He was the first Keralite to do that. Jaseel strongly feels that badminton hasn't got its due in India.

"It's time the media and the sponsors paid us a little attention. Though I have nothing against cricket, it's a bit unfair that all other sports are ignored in this country. But you have to admit that the cricket administrators have marketed their sport well."

He would also like to see badminton spreading to cities outside Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

P.K. AJITH KUMAR

Valiyaveetil Diju

Date of Birth of Valiyaveetil Diju is January 4, 1981
Birth place of Valiyaveetil Diju is Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
Height of Valiyaveetil Diju is 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Marital status Valiyaveetil Diju Married

                           Diju started his career by representing Calicut University at All India University
Championships. In 2002, he and Sanave Thomas won the Indian National Badminton Championships (doubles) atLucknow by defeating Jaseel P. Ismail and Jaison Xavier in four games. He won the Bitburger Open Championship in Germany along with Jwala Gutta. It was India's first mixed-doubles Grand Prix win. Diju is a four-time National mixed-doubles champion. In 2006, he won bronze medal inCommonwealth Games at Melbourne. He has also won the National doubles title in 2002 with Sanave Thomas as the partner. Diju-Jwala pair was runner up at Indian Open held at Hyderabad in 2009. They lost to Indonesian Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa in the final.

Thomas Kurian

Date of Birth of Thomas Kurian is 10-09-1979
Birth place of Thomas Kurain is Kerala, India
Height of Thomas Kurain is 159.5 CMS
Marital status Thomas Kurain :Married to Ann Thomas
*He represented India in the Thomas Cup preliminaries held in Jaipur in 2006 where India qualified for the final rounds.
*Thomas has reached the finals of the Scottish Open International and has won the Indian Satellite Championships in 2005.

George Thomas

 

George Thomas is a Left Handed badminton player 

Date of Birth of George Thomas is 04-15-1966

* Arjuna Award 2000

* G V Raja Award: 1985

* Jimmy George Award: 1999

* First player to win a double at the Toulouse Open: 1991

* Member of the Indian team that won the silver at the Commonwealth Games : 1998

* Captain of the Indian team in 1991 & 1994

* National champion: 1991

* Represented Kerala for 26 years from 1980-2006

* National Senior Coach

Read All About Gorege Thomas-Article from Hindu

There is a boundless energy about George Thomas. The champion ‘shuttler,’ the only one from the State to be honoured with the Arjuna Award (2000) for the sport, speaks fast, almost staccato-like, and when it comes to badminton he simply cannot stop talking. If there is something else that matches this passion it is M. T. Vasudevan Nair, ‘his stories, novels, scripts, films.’

This ‘craze’ for badminton and MT’s works was something he had right from his childhood. Starting off hitting the ‘bird’ in his home yard at Chengannur, George got hooked to the sport. With both his father and brother good players in their own right, George got the support he needed. “I was a good athlete, did quite well in the speed events. I could even run the 100 metres under 12 seconds. But somehow badminton became my favourite and I joined the G. V. Raja Sports School,” remembers George, who is now National Senior Coach for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

Almost at the same time he developed a strong liking for MT’s writings. “The sports school gave me a lot. More than honing my skills in the chosen sport, it helped me form a regular routine. I have been following this rather spartan schedule even today. It was during this time I began reading MT and he still remains my favourite writer.”

Thiruvananthapuram days

Those Thiruvananthapuram days laid the foundation of a sterling badminton career. The training then began in right earnest at the sports school under the hawk eyes of Balagopalan Thampi and Sivaramakrishnan. It continued for a short time even after George was out of school. “Those days there was a good group of players, including Vimal Kumar, in Thiruvananthapuram. Playing against each other really helped. But all this changed once I joined the engineering college at Thrissur.”

George considers this decision as “the biggest blunder” he made in his life. “But looking back badminton would certainly not have been first option those days. Coming from a middle-class family, taking up a sport for a career was risky business. I was forced to go for engineering to make my future.”

What spurred him to take up engineering was not being able to raise funds to make the trip with the senior Indian team. “After we won the bronze at the Junior Asian Championship I was picked for the senior team to play the Asian Championship at Seoul. Those days players had to shell out a good sum for the trip. Dogged by financial constraints I could not give it a go. It was a huge disappointment and also made me think again of badminton as a career.”

The four years at Engineering College, Thrissur, were virtually a trial by fire. George was in no mood to give up badminton despite heavy odds. “The biggest problem was that there were very few players then. We had a cement court at Pauly Memorial Club and getting leave to play tournaments was near impossible.”

A real fighter and a good one at that, George worked with steely determination towards his goal. He used to reach the club, wipe the court clean, and tie sand bags on his legs and practise. “I used to play against two or three players simultaneously. If there were no players around I used to hit the shuttlecock against the wall and try returning or do some shadow practice. What kept me going was the words of Prakash Padukone. He once said that once players start cribbing it is the start of their downfall: So very true. ”

Reward for hard work

All that hard work certainly reaped rich rewards. For 11 years he was the undisputed State No. 1 and among the top five shuttlers in the country. With an engineering degree in hand and more confident to take on the world, George took the decision to take up badminton as a career. He joined the national camp at Patiala and in his first major outing lost a close quarterfinal battle against State-mate Vimal Kumar at the Jalandhar Nationals. Not to be put down he went on to win at the trials to be included in the Indian team for the World Championships. There was no looking back for this dogged player. George went on to become a force in Indian badminton, winning a rich haul that included a Commonwealth silver medal, a senior National singles title, Double at the Toulouse Open and a clutch of other National and International singles and doubles crowns. From 1989 to 2000 George was a vital cog in the national squads. George, who works as Senior Manager (Public Relations), BPCL, has still not left the scene. He continues the training regimen he used to follow at the sports school, plays the Masters tournaments regularly and is a much-sought- after coach.

Coaching

As a coach at the Regional Sports Centre (RSC), Kochi, the nursery of badminton in the State, George has been instrumental in moulding the careers of many budding badminton talents. The centre has so far produced five junior national players, 30 State champions and over 40 State ranked players. As secretary he turned RSC into a premium sports centre with round-the-year coaching camps in various disciplines. He was also instrumental in opening up the membership at RSC to students for a nominal fee.

When most sportsmen retire and fade away George is still ready for a good, tight game. “I don’t believe that a player should retire. Of course, youngsters should be given space, but then should they not earn their rightful place? I think I’m still good to play the State championships in the doubles at least.”

Married to Preetha, a former badminton star, they have two sons Arun and Kiran, following in their father’s footsteps, who are State champions in their age groups.

Prakash Padukone

 One interesting thing About Indian badminton
   The indian palyer Who won National single title the most?Prakash Padukone,he won national single title from 1971 to 1979.And the best thing is he won National dobles title four times.In 1973 he won the doubles title with Davinder Ahuja,in 1976,&1977,with Leory D 'sa,and lastly in 1979 with kiran Kaushik.This record is still exist.


          Prakash hails from the Konkani-speaking community of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins (born June 10, 1955).His father, Ramesh Padukone served as the Secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association for many years, and looking great potential and talent in Prakash, introduced him to the game at quite an early age. He was the first indian who won the prestigious all england championship.Padukone's first official tournament was the Karnataka state junior championship in 1962. Though he lost in the very first round, two years later he managed to win the state junior title.he won the National Junior Badminton Championship in the year 1970.In the same year, he occurred to witness the legendry Badminton player, Rudi Hartono of Indonesia playing a power packed game at Jabalpur, India. Rudi’s game, full of aggressiveness and power. Getting inspired by him, Prakash decided to change his style of game from mild to aggressive, and hence there was no looking back for him. He managed to win both the Junior National and Senior National Badminton titles in the year 1971, at the age of 16 years.Prakash continued to win the National Senior title for 9 years in a row, a record that has still not been equaled. In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. In 1979, he won the Evening of Champions at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
In 1980, he won the Danish Open, the Swedish Open and became the first Indian to win the coveted men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King. The victory at All England Badminton Championship earned Prakash a World No. 1 ranking, something that he’s been the only Indian to achieve till date.He spent much of his international career training in Denmark, and developed close friendships with European players such as Morten Frost.He had now entered the league of the best badminton players in the world of his time, and in the Swedish Open tournament of 1980, he even got to clash against his Idol, Rudy Hartono in an early round of the tournament. Prakash beat Rudy by 9-15, 15-12 and 15-1, and even though he could easily win by 15-0 in the last set, he didn’t want to embarrass his Idol.
          Further, he won the Alba World Cup Badminton 1981 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was the first ever Indian Badminton player to win a World Cup title. He won the Dutch Open and the Hong Kong Open Championships in 1982. Prakash won a Bronze Medal at the World Badminton Championship 1983 held at Copenhagen, Denmark.

   After his retirement in 1991, he was the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He was the coach of the Indian national badminton team in 1993 and 1996.

    Major Achivements

3rd in world chapionship Singles in 1983 at Copenhagen, DEN
1st in Commonwealth Games Singles in 1978 at Edmonton, CAN
1st in World Grand Prix Singles in 1979 at Denmark Open
1st in World Grand Prix Singles in 1980 at All England Open


   He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982.His biography is released in 2006 in the name of Touchplay Written By dev Sukumar.

Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy(PPBA)

Academy started in 1994 at Banglore.Out of the many talents from the academy Pullella Gopi Chand & Aparna Popat shines international level.In 2007 Tata grop come as lead sponser of the academy.2009 new branch of the academy started at mumbai.International players from the academy  include Gopi Chand,Aparna Popat, Aravind Bhat,Ashwani Ponnappa,Adaiti Mutakar,Ajay Jayaram,Anand Pawar,Anup Sridhar,and many..

Badminton All England 1981 MS Final Game

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