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Panitchaphon “EQ” Teeraratsakul has quickly become one of the fastest rising stars in badminton, but what makes his explosive style so dangerous? In this video, we break down EQ’s gameplay at the 2026 Malaysia Masters, including his wins over Christo Popov and Lu Guang Zu, before analyzing how Li Shi Feng exposed the weaknesses in his fast-paced box style in the finals.
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Thailand has another top men's singles
0:02
player coming up and his name is
0:03
Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul.
0:06
This has been a breakthrough year for
0:07
him so far
0:08
with three runner-up finishes and two of
0:11
them being super 500 tournaments.
0:14
He has caught many people's eyes already
0:16
with explosive attacking gameplay
0:19
that has had some even compare him to
0:21
players like Lin Dan and Lin Chun-Yi.
0:26
Now for the sake of this video, we're
0:27
going to call Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul
0:30
by his nickname, EQ.
0:32
The focus today is primarily his
0:34
gameplay at the recent 2026 Malaysian
0:36
Masters where he took down players like
0:38
Christo Popov and eventually lost to Li
0:41
Shifeng in the finals.
0:44
Let's begin with some of EQ's strengths
0:46
and what is getting him these wins
0:48
before we have the discussion about the
0:49
weaknesses.
0:51
EQ's recent success comes at a good
0:54
timing as in the back end, we're
0:56
currently spending a lot of time
0:57
researching more deeply on exactly how
0:59
to be fast on court.
1:02
Throughout our lives as badminton
1:03
players, we've consistently been among
1:05
the fittest and fastest when it comes to
1:07
traditional fitness measurements like
1:09
sprint speeds and weightlifting.
1:12
But despite all this fitness, we would
1:14
lose to retired national team players
1:16
and feel like we're constantly under
1:18
pressure while our opponents didn't
1:19
break a sweat. It was later on that we
1:22
realized our core problem was that we
1:24
were mentally stuck in a slow playing
1:26
rhythm. But how does this relate to EQ
1:28
at the 2026 Malaysian Masters?
1:31
Well, EQ's rhythm on court is fast and
1:34
the speed in his first step was the main
1:35
contributor to his wins.
1:38
One thing we've come to realize is that
1:40
it's not just enough to be fast, you
1:42
have to be fast at the right time.
1:45
And to many of you, this may sound
1:47
obvious.
1:48
Of course,
1:50
your initial split step in reaction to
1:52
the opponent hitting
1:53
has to be the fastest part of your game.
1:56
You can't have a slow split step and
1:58
then try to compensate by moving faster
1:59
in your second step. That faster second
2:02
step will be detrimental to your final
2:03
step
2:04
when you actually play your shot, where
2:06
you may no longer be able to control
2:08
your shot
2:09
and recovery movement.
2:12
Mastering timing though is one of the
2:14
hardest parts of the game and there are
2:16
levels even among pros.
2:19
We attribute EQ's wins against Lu
2:20
Guangzu and Christo Popov primarily
2:22
because his initial reaction on many
2:24
shots was much quicker than his
2:25
opponents and enables him to gain
2:27
control of the rally.
2:30
And to understand this, let's look at
2:32
how EQ plays.
2:38
Thai singles players are historically
2:39
known for playing a box style with high
2:42
use of fast, flat pushes and quick
2:45
attacking shots in the back court
2:47
designed to cut and feed off fast
2:49
returns from their opponents.
2:51
This is exactly how EQ plays and it is
2:53
why the first step and reaction are so
2:55
important.
2:56
In a fast box style of game,
2:59
shots are fast and flat. If you let the
3:01
shuttle past you to take a late forehand
3:03
or backhand in this faster paced game,
3:05
you pretty much lost the rally. There's
3:07
just not enough time for you to move all
3:08
the way back and then forward again, no
3:11
matter how strong you are.
3:14
That is unless if you cut off the shot
3:16
early. This is why that first step and
3:18
initial reaction is so important. You
3:20
don't want to be smashing all the way
3:21
with your feet at the baseline, but if
3:23
you're quick and cut off the shot before
3:25
it even reaches the double service line,
3:27
the shot you'll play will come at a much
3:28
quicker pace that makes it difficult for
3:30
your opponents to react to.
3:32
Now it's important that we don't think
3:34
of this first step concept as a raw
3:37
reaction and movement speed. Training
3:39
reaction speeds could help,
3:42
but this first step really depends more
3:44
on an understanding and anticipation of
3:45
the game's pace. What allowed EQ to take
3:48
down Lu Guangzu and Christo Popov
3:50
was that he was setting the pace of the
3:52
game at a much higher speed than what
3:55
Liu and Christo were prepared for.
3:57
Just take a look at this rally, for
3:58
example.
3:59
Although EQ ultimately makes the
4:01
mistake,
4:02
you can see how he is the one
4:04
controlling the rally
4:05
because he is playing at a faster mental
4:07
rhythm than Liu.
4:09
The higher level you get,
4:11
the more nuanced the game becomes,
4:13
where it's no longer only anticipating
4:15
what's the next shot,
4:17
but also at what time the shot is coming
4:18
at you.
4:20
Liu's rhythm on court often gives us a
4:21
sense of hit weight split go.
4:24
What happens if Liu's opponent breaks
4:25
this rhythm?
4:27
Well, the answer is Liu will probably be
4:29
late to the next shot.
4:43
It was often the case that EQ took the
4:45
net really early
4:46
and didn't let Liu have his waiting
4:49
rhythm.
4:50
Thus,
4:51
Liu was more often the one that was
4:54
under pressure.
4:55
And your chances of making mistakes
4:57
under pressure is always higher.
4:59
It was a similar story against Christo.
5:02
Typically, Christo is actually really
5:03
good at this style, but likely fatigue
5:05
and other factors has made Christo
5:07
slower in his first step. You can see it
5:09
when you look at things like body turns
5:11
and how the racket comes out in response
5:13
to various shots.
5:15
EQ generally has very quick movements
5:17
while Christo's had more of a lagging
5:19
feel at the 2016 Malaysia Masters.
5:35
You know, something that frequently
5:37
comes up in our comment section is how
5:39
we make the subject player look like
5:40
he's the best in the world with zero
5:42
weaknesses.
5:44
And it probably feels was way for EQ by
5:46
this point.
5:47
An instantaneous first step that makes
5:49
him always early and constantly
5:50
pressuring his opponents. What can
5:52
possibly stop that?
5:54
Well, as Li Shifeng showed in the
5:55
finals,
5:57
quite a bit.
5:59
The problem with EQ is that his gameplay
6:00
is pretty much limited to his box style.
6:03
And the more one-dimensional your
6:04
gameplay is, the easier it is to
6:06
counter.
6:07
Li Shifeng was almost stylistically the
6:09
perfect counter to EQ.
6:11
He is a player that's extremely
6:13
explosive and has that really quick
6:15
first step.
6:16
But he uses it more selectively.
6:19
In particular, Li Shifeng prioritizes
6:20
injecting speed in response to EQ's
6:22
flatter attacking pushes.
6:25
And when EQ is not playing those shots,
6:27
the game revolves more around control.
6:33
Li Shifeng's higher lifts and pushes are
6:35
what ultimately won him the game
6:37
and something that EQ didn't make enough
6:39
use of in his own game.
6:41
Being fast is great.
6:43
But if you are moving at max speed in
6:45
every push off, you will quickly burn
6:47
out.
6:57
You can train your physical to handle
6:59
playing at max speed.
7:01
But just like we mentioned in our video
7:03
on Hu Jian,
7:05
the best players don't just win,
7:07
they win efficiently.
7:09
And to win efficiently,
7:11
it's about selecting the right times to
7:12
be fast.
7:14
Since Li Shifeng was not particularly
7:15
scared of EQ's back court attacking
7:17
play,
7:18
when he plays a lift with good height
7:20
and depth,
7:21
the gameplay was simple for him.
7:23
Tire EQ out with front and back
7:25
movements.
7:26
You can slow down the game and afford to
7:28
be a little late on your shot
7:30
if you can play a high quality lift.
7:33
Mix in some nets just to make sure EQ
7:35
isn't always just waiting back to
7:38
Then Li Shifeng just has to make sure
7:39
the shuttle does not easily pass him in
7:41
the back court.
7:43
And force EQ to move even faster than
7:45
what he's capable of by redirecting the
7:48
quick shots with more speed.
7:51
The stats support this story, too. EQ
7:53
had scored the vast majority of his
7:55
points from playing winners.
7:57
Li Shifeng, on the other hand,
7:59
scored mostly from EQ's unforced errors.
8:02
What this shows is that Li Shifeng
8:04
generally scored more efficiently.
8:07
He could get a lot of points just from
8:08
EQ forcing the attack.
8:10
Now, we don't think EQ should have
8:12
always been on the attack. He's
8:13
definitely showed the skill where he
8:15
doesn't need to constantly attack
8:17
and can play more of a patient game.
8:19
There is a tendency for younger players
8:21
to play as fast as they can
8:23
under the impression that trying your
8:25
hardest means playing full speed all the
8:27
time.
8:28
But badminton is not always a game of
8:29
speed and power. Skill and strategy is
8:32
just as important and becomes
8:33
increasingly more important the higher
8:35
level you have to play.
8:37
If you like this video,
8:39
make sure to hit the like and subscribe
8:40
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8:42
content. Let us know what you would like
8:44
to see next in the comments below. And
8:46
as always, thank you for watching.
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