Does Starting Late Really Matter?

Many badminton players at international level, have started playing badminton at a very young age. For example, Lin Dan started his badminton training at the age of 5. Think how high the net would have seemed! True, he may have played in a smaller court with a lower net or equipped himself with a shorter racquet. But is particpation from a young age a vital requirement for a player to reach international levels?

Lee Chong Wei does in a way disproves this theory. He started playing badminton at the age of 11 - 6 years later than Lin Dan. Yet he managed to achieve World No.1 ranking and reach the international stage just as Lin Dan did. Even with 6 years less training. In my opinion, starting badminton as early as Lin Dan did, would certainly give you an advantage, but you would still need the determination to succeed, high quality and quantity training, high work rate and last but not least; raw talent. So there could be several factors deciding how high your badminton career could reach, but it is unlikely that you will reach the international stage if you enter the sport around 14-16 years of age, as most of the national squads are selected from quite a young age and you have to be able to make the cut from early on.

However there are a occasional exceptions. Han Jian, a former Chinese international badminton player, started the sport late at the age of 16. However, he still managed achieve great success in several World Grand Prix competitions, before becoming the men's singles champion after beating Morten Frost in the 1985 IBF World Championships. Considering he started the sport at the age of 16, while his peers may have had a 10 year head start, Han Jian has accomplished more than that of many other professional players.

You could argue that Han Jian achieved his successes nearly 25 years ago and a modern player who has entered the game as late as he did, would have a slim chance of replicating his feats. However Colin Haughton is one player that has reached international level with England, despite also starting badminton at the age of 16. Although his highest international ranking of 19th cannot compare to Han Jian's several World Grand Prix victories, he still held the No.1 position in the national rankings. For any 16 year old player starting badminton, it would be a dream come true.

So does starting late really matter? I think that although starting the game from a tender young age isn't vital to reach international levels, it would definitely improve their chances of doing so. Realistically, if you start the game at around the same age as Colin Haughton, then chances are that county level would be the highest you would be able to reach. But with quality training, hard work, grit determination and raw talent, then maybe following Colin's Haughton's footsteps or even surpassing them, is possible.