Notational comparison of men’s singles badminton matches between Olympic Games in Beijing and London

Muscle damage produced during a simulated badminton match in competitive male players

“…The duration of each match was always 45 min, according to the average length of a high-level match with the current scoring system (Abián et al, 2014;Abián-Vicén et al, 2013). During the games, participants were matched according to their performance level.…”

“…Although there is abundant scientific information about the occurrence and severity of EIMD in endurance activities and its relationship with a reduced capacity to generate muscle force , this phenomenon has not been properly investigated in high-intensity and intermittent sports. Badminton is a sport characterized by intermittent movements of moderate to high intensity interspersed with recovery periods between points or sets (Abián, Castanedo, Feng, Sampedro, & Abian-Vicen, 2014;Abián-Vicén, Castanedo, Abian, & Sampedro, 2013;Cabello & Gonzalez, 2003). However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the presence and magnitude of EIMD in badminton.…”

“…In tennis, a racquet sport with comparable physical characteristics to badminton, the increase of serum CK has been associated with a progressive reduction in maximal force and an increase in muscle soreness (Girard, Lattier, Micallef, & Millet, 2006;Hornery, Farrow, Mujika, & Young, 2007;Ojala & Hakkinen, 2013). However, these investigations in tennis included simulated competitions with matches of 2-3 hours of duration while mean duration of a badminton match is only ̴ 43 min (Abián et al, 2014).…”

Changes in Duration and Intensity of the World’s Top-Level Badminton Matches: A Consideration of the Increased Acute Injuries among Elite Women’s Singles Players

“…Compared to the early rounds, the final eight in women's singles matches had a marked increase in number of shots per rally resulting from the combination of increase in rally time and in number of shots per second. Abian et al (2014) suggested that longer rallies and shortened stroke time combined with increased number of shots per rally make badminton matches more competitive [2]. During such matches, players are highly loaded and could get more tired as they are required to continue making quick starts, stops, and direction changes [18].…”

“…However, the match duration in recent top-level international tournaments increased under the current scoring system. A previous study showed that the duration in men's singles matches in the 2012 Olympic Games in London significantly increased compared to that in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing [2]. Additionally, the authors indicated that rallies have become significantly longer and the number of shots per rally significantly increased in the 2012 London Olympic Games.…”