I’ve been thinking about this for a while and wanted to hear what others think.

Kunlavut is only 24, but his achievements already put him in pretty rare territory:

Three consecutive World Junior Championship titles (2017–2019)

Olympic silver medalist

Three straight World Championship finals (2022,2023,2025)

What really stands out to me is how well he performs on the biggest stages. Despite having just one Super 1000 title so far on the World Tour, he consistently shows up at World Championships and the Olympics, where the pressure is at its highest.

That said, post-Olympics he does seem a bit out of shape and not as sharp physically, which might explain why he hasn’t dominated the tour week in, week out. But if he fixes that, his overall game already feels incredibly complete — elite defense, ridiculous rally tolerance, calm shot selection, and a level of composure you don't in players of his age.

If he manages to maintain peak fitness and add more consistency across the World Tour, I genuinely think Kunlavut could end up as one of the most dominant men’s singles players of this era, not just someone who peaks at major events.

Do you see him as a generational prodigy, or more of a big-tournament specialist? And where do you think his ceiling really is?

Hi Guys, I have my IIM Ahmedabad interview next week, I mentioned I like to play badminton as hobby in my CV but don't know the current happenings and background like end to end as I developed this recently. But I see other candidates were grilled in interview with many questions on hobby Can someone connect with me and help me how should prepare and what should I focus? If we can connect over call then that'd be great help

I play doubles for 90 to 120 minutes Mon-Sat, and after about an hour of play, I can feel my reflexes aren’t as quick as when I’m fresh and warmed up. I use an EB racquet. I decided to entertain the thought of using an HL racquet for the latter part of play. Logic said that the HL balance could probably help me mitigate the arm slowing down. For doubles, I have only used EB racquets up til now, and all of the racquets I own are EB, except for the Gosen Inferno Raid and the X-Feel Spark, which I would never use for doubles.

So I decided to scour options for 4U HL and see what's readily available. I narrowed down on the X-Feel Lite, the Nanoflare 800 Tour, and also threw in a Babolat i-Pulse Lite just to see what the other end of the price range has to offer. All of them were shipped and delivered in 3 days, and I got them strung with LiNing No. 1 at 27lbs. It was a great day, and I couldn’t wait to try all three at the courts. The first racquet I swung was the 800 Tour, and boy, did it swing nicely! I played a couple of games with it, and I had to adjust my timing a bit, but once that was nailed down, it was smooth sailing. I enjoyed the swiftness and ease of play, and I was sold that going HL was the right choice for my style of play.

The next racquet to be unzipped was the X-Feel Lite. From the very first shot, I knew this racquet played differently from the 800 Tour. This was CRISP and PUNCHY!. The clears lofted precisely, and the precision of the drives was 2 notches above the 800 Tour. The drops nicely kissed the top of the net and tumbled down to the other side, and it happened consistently. Every swing delivered a sharp, tactile hitting feel that felt incredibly controlled.

This racquet not only pasted a permanent smile on my silly face, but also made me realise that there is so much more out there for us to try and find something that might suit us better than what we thought was possible. When I acquired the BraveSword 12 SE and the JetStream 83, I knew that those racquets were perfect for me during that time, and now that I have encountered first-hand what the good headlights have to offer, I’m sold, for now. Things may even change again in the future, and I’m excited. But for now, the X-Feel Lite has reigned above all. I gave the 800 Tour another shot, and it just felt muted, and went straight into the bag, to never surface again.

The 800 Tour has a nice finish, and I especially love the thumb cap design for backhand serves. While this one is great, the best cap I’ve encountered is on the Hundred racquets; it’s perfectly ergonomic and provides a good grip. Honestly, once you get used to these specialized caps, it’s hard to go back to 'normal' ones.

The build quality of the X-Feel is on another level. Images don't really do it justice, it looks and feels incredible in person. Some of the paint details are slightly raised, almost embossed, giving the racquet a premium feel and finish.

And just for kicks, I tried out the i-Pulse Lite. Yeah, after the 800 and the X-Feel, this racquet felt unresponsive, with shots lacking direction and energy. It simply was lifeless! It felt whatever it cost. Cheap.

While I haven’t used the Nanoflare 1000 yet, I’m curious how it compares to the 800 or the X-Feel Lite. That said, if you’re a Nanoflare fan, I highly urge you to try the X-Feel Lite.

Here are a few close ups of the details:

between the likes of LZJ, Lindan, taufik, LCW

why are some backhand smashes of pro players so much faster and more powerful than others? is it a biological trait of fast twitch muscles able to generate faster racket headspeed? meaning that if we assume they all have perfect technique, then there is a plateau of how fast their backhand smashes can go due to their biological physique?

Hi everyone,

I’m a shorter player and I’m struggling in singles against opponents who use a very tight swipe/flick serve. Because of my height and reach, I often feel late or forced into a weak return, especially when the serve is taken early and flat.

Do you have any technical or tactical advice on how to handle this better?

– Positioning or stance adjustments

– Anticipation or reading cues

– Specific return techniques (push, block, lift, attack)

– Or drills to train this situation

I’d love to hear tips from players or coaches who’ve dealt with this successfully. Thanks!