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`Believe in your style and master it'
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With world badminton being dominated by Chinese players, legends Morten Frost Hansen and Prakash Padukone take a trip down memory lane to the time when they showed the world how to beat the Chinese
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PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.
LEGENDS SPEAK Morten Frost Hansen and Prakash Padukone relive their battles against the Chinese
"I hate to lose more than most. I have the will to win every time." That is Morten Frost Hansen for you. Frost spent twelve years in the top three of the world rankings. It is said he won everything there was to be won, except the World Badminton Championships where he finished with a silver medal twice. He dominated the much-coveted All England Open Badminton Championships (comparable to Wimbledon in tennis) in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1987. His coach, also a legend, Tom John said: "He used to give international players in England a 14-0 start. And if they won, the bet was they would take the money. And most of the players would take the bet, but they made very little money."
The same John said of Prakash Padukone: "... it was all here in his hands." He won the Indian national junior title in 1972 followed it with the senior title the same year. Then he won the Indian national title consecutively for the next seven years, until 1979. His crowning glory was the victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King in 1980 to win the All England Open. His trophy cabinet also includes the London Masters' Open, Denmark Open and Swedish Open, and an Arjuna Award. The title of his biography, Touchplay, probably best describes his style.
Padukone developed a close relationship with Frost when they trained together at Denmark and have remained mates ever since. ANAND SANKAR caught up with the duo as they wound back the years to the time when China began its rise to become a badminton superpower.
Padukone: In 1976 we had the Asian Championship at Hyderabad. It was the first time we saw the Chinese. They were still not members of the IBF (International Badminton Federation) that time.
Frost: Yes, they came in only in about 1981...
Padukone: Their visit was more to give an idea of what they are doing and their players. A lot of people said the Indonesian Federation held him, Rudy Hartono, back because they didn't want him to play the Chinese.
Frost: Yes, he had an image...
Padukone: He had a tag that he was the best player the world has ever produced. It would have been interesting even at his peak if he played the Chinese. I don't think they played even once.
Frost: It certainly made an impact when the Chinese came on to the scene in the early eighties.
Padukone: You remember the Santa Clara World Games?
Frost: Oh, yes.
Padukone: That was the first time we played the Chinese. I still remember that we played Chen Chang Jee. I lost to him in the semi final...
Frost: And I lost to him in the final.
Padukone: You lost to him almost in the same score as me.
Frost: Yes, it was very, very close.
Padukone: It was 15-12 in the third or something. And that's when I said the Chinese are beatable and it was big news all over the world. People thought I was pulling a fast one. And in the very next tournament, the English Masters, we beat them. So, it was not empty words, we two showed the way the Chinese could be beaten. The Indonesians probably got the inspiration from us.
Frost: I agree. Back in the 70s there were teams from China visiting Denmark. And all the players just lost.
Padukone: Did you watch any of those matches? I have only heard about them.
Frost: I was a small kid then and probably arranged a bus trip to get to Copenhagen. I actually saw the Danish team play the Chinese team in 1971.
Padukone: Okay...
Frost: I don't know if most people remember Ilo Hansen. He had all the tricks. The crowd absolutely went wild because this Chinese was so quick but he fell for all the trick shots. Hansen was 7-1 up in the first set. But after that he lost 15-7 and 15-1 because the Chinese had figured out all his shots. (Laughter) Yes, We had a lot of good players at the time but they got completely annihilated. I still remember one of the former greats in Denmark joked with me. He said my boy, my boy, you are going to have fun with the Chinese for the next 10 years, thank you very much I didn't have to play them.
(Laughter)
Padukone: Yes, when we won against them, it gave a lot of confidence to the other players, including the Malaysians, Indonesians and Koreans. Not that we were winning everytime, but a couple of times we were able to beat them.
Frost: I remember in 1980 I played the Chinese team before they came into the IBF. I still remember Hang Jang, this short guy, coming on to the court with a racket that had strings that looked like they had been repaired. It was so loose and he had an interesting style of play. I looked at him warming up and thought there is no way I can lose to this guy. (Laughter) I still remember, I lost 15-8, 15-8 and Jang later told the papers, I was told Morten Frost is very fast, but I can't really see it.
Padukone: But the scenario today is not very conducive. Especially for the ladies I feel very, very bad. If eight Chinese players are allowed to play, I won't be surprised if all eight reach the quarterfinals. I don't see anyone making a mark - the Japanese, Koreans or the Danes. At least with the men the Chinese don't win all the time. Their dominance especially in the ladies singles is not good for the game.
Frost: You don't want what happened in Madrid. The Chinese they won too much. All respect, they have a fantastic team, but in terms of what's good for badminton, we would like more nationalities to win. It would make it more interesting.
Padukone: To beat them first you need self-belief and second don't play the game, which they are playing. Try something different. Otherwise you have to be faster, fitter and stronger than them, which is not humanly possible. But because they are winning, everyone is trying to follow their example and blindly do whatever they do. You must analyse your own strengths and weaknesses and believe in your own style, and master them. Some originality has to be there.
Frost: Yes we are lacking it a lot. When we played, the toughest player was the Korean, he was like a kamakazie, he would never die on the court. After that the Indonesians were very tough, then the Chinese, the Malaysians and then the Indians, apart from Prakash, of course. That was how I saw them in terms of mental toughness. If you follow what Prakash says, the Chinese will fold. But now we are gobsmacked. Take an inch every single time.
(Memories and lessons from practising together)
Padukone: In India there is a belief that when you are practising with players of the same standard, you don't play your best because the other person will get to know your tricks. All wrong notions. I never believed in that.
Frost: It shows a complete lack of confidence. What are the chances that the player you play in practice is drawn against you in a tournament? If you are two of the best you might meet in the semi-final or final, but otherwise the chances are minus one. So, why hold back and not improve together. If you have to improve your international standing, you have to improve your training standing.
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