Source:REUTERS/Issei Kato
[Saba Sports News] Recently, the mixed doubles third round at the BWF World Championships concluded. The Chinese pair Cheng Xing / Zhang Chi won, advancing to the quarter-finals. However, Coach Yang Ming’s tactical instructions have sparked controversy. The Danish pair Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Boje faced the 12th seeds Cheng Xing / Zhang Chi, who entered as substitutes. The Chinese pair narrowly won the first game 23-21. When leading 11-4 in the second game, the match entered an interval. Coach Yang Ming said to the two players: “When Zhang Chi moves up, don’t think about smashing. Definitely add power to clear the shuttle past him. You‘ll just play a drop shot (or ‘hook’ it), no need to fight him hard. You‘ll just play it long, like walking a dog, diagonally. Once he comes over, then flick it over his head, just exhaust him. They are less patient than us now. If you push deep and they just block it short, we’ll be in trouble. So, you‘ll ‘walk the dog’, play long, open the court, okay? Zhang Chi, here, after pushing deep, don’t always just block.” Ultimately, Cheng Xing / Zhang Chi won the second game 21-12, eliminating their opponents 2-0 overall and advancing to the mixed doubles quarter-finals. However, some netizens believe Yang Ming’s reference to a “‘walking the dog tactic” could be seen as disrespectful to the opponents. But other netizens said “walking the dog” is just a figure of speech, and the greatest respect for an opponent is to defeat them on the court using reasonable tactics.