Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s badminton maestro Lee Chong Wei topped the list for most powerful smash in any international badminton tournament since last September, with 408 kilometers per hour at the 2015 Hong Kong Open, which he won at the Coliseum in Hung Hom.
That data was clocked by Badminton World Federation (BWF) using the Hawk-Eye technology. Hawk-Eye was also being used to provide instant-review at some major tournaments.
The speed record data also indicated men’s badminton player routinely smash over the speed of 390 km/h.
Jan Jorgensen of Denmark was in the second place in term of smashing speed, with 407 km/h in the semi-finals of the 2016 Malaysia Open.
Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China also recorded a 401 km/h smash on his way to victory in the 2015 Japan Open.
The 2013 World Champion, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand delivered the fastest smash, clocking at 372 km/h in the semi-finals of the 2016 Malaysia Open.
However, different measuring techniques produced the record differently. In August 2013, Malaysian badminton star Tan Boon Heong has unofficially broken his own world smash speed record, propelling the shuttle to 493 kilometers per hour in a special experiment conducted by a badminton equipment manufacturer.
The Guinness Book of World Records also showed a discrepancy in the smash record because it said a 332 km/h smash (206 mph) by Fu Haifeng of China in 2005 was the fastest smash ever recorded.
Here are the top five speeds released by the Hawk-Eye data:
Men’s Singles:
Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) 408kmh (Hong Kong Open 2015)
Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) 407kmh (Malaysia Open 2016)
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) 404kmh (Japan Open 2015)
Parupalli Kashyap (India) 401kmh (Japan Open 2015)
Lin Dan (China) 401kmh (Japan Open 2015)
Women’s Singles:
Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) 372kmh (Malaysia Open 2016)
Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan) 360kmh (All England 2016)
Wang Yihan (China) 359kmh (Malaysia Open 2016)
Saina Nehwal (India) 357kmh (All England 2016)
Carolina Marin (Spain) 356kmh (All England 2016)
