Oh yay, Malaysian shuttler Dato’ Lee Chong Wei has given Malaysians another reason to celebrate!
The former world number one’s smash in last year’s Hong Kong Open has officially been recognised as the most powerful smash in badminton history. He proceeded to win the November 2015 tournament.
His 408kph smash was recorded by Hawk-Eye Innovations, which provides instant-review services at major sports tournaments. Lee’s smash is close to the top speed recorded by the fastest car in the world, a Hennessy Venom GT, which is around 435kmh.
Prior to Lee, the fastest smash recorded was by Chinese badminton doubles player Fu Hai Feng in the 2005 Sudirman Cup. His smash went as fast as 332kph.
Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen’s record followed close behind Lee’s, with his smash going as fast as 407kph in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open, which took place earlier in April this year.
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The women shuttlers were not too far behind, with Thailand’s number one Ratchanok Intanon clocking 372kph in the same tournament as Jorgensen.
The top 5 smashing speeds by male and female shuttlers respectively are as below:
- Men’s Singles:
- Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) 408km/h (Hong Kong Open 2015)
- Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) 407km/h (Malaysia Open 2016)
- Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) 404km/h (Japan Open 2015)
- Parupalli Kashyap (India) 401km/h (Japan Open 2015)
- Lin Dan (China) 401km/h (Japan Open 2015)
- Women’s Singles:
- Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) 372km/h (Malaysia Open 2016)
- Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan) 360km/h (All England 2016)
- Wang Yihan (China) 359km/h (Malaysia Open 2016)
- Saina Nehwal (India) 357km/h (All England 2016)
- Carolina Marin (Spain) 356km/h (All England 2016)
Former national player, Tan Boon Heong, who partnered with Koo Kien Keat to reach the number one spot in men’s doubles from 2007 until 2010, achieved a smashing speed of 493kph in 2013. However, it was not officially recorded, as the Russian National Badminton Federation revealed the information as part of a special experiment.
The Federation did not reveal how they recorded the information, nor when and where the smash occurred.
Sources: The Star, Sputnik News, South China Morning Post.
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