The most epic point in badminton history? 211 hits and more than 3 minutes!

“Winning this point was almost like winning the match”, admitted the Malaysian player Thinaah Muralitharan after the effort. Because she, together with her teammate Pearly Tan and the rivals, the Japanese Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto, they staged an epic point, probably the longest in history in a women’s doubles matchin an exchange of blows that lasted more than 3 minutes and… 211 blows!

It was a grueling point, which ended with the players on the ground at the end. The Malaysians scored the point, but all four needed to stop for a few seconds to catch their breath. “I was too excited for it to finally be over because it was exhausting and we just wanted it to be over fast,” Thinaah admitted. “When it was over, I really needed a break and dropped the racket. So picking it up off the ground gave me some time to rest.”

His partner also admitted that the fatigue was enormous. “We were tired, but so was the opponent,” Tan said. “In our minds we wanted to win that point, so we mentally prepared very well and I’m very happy that we won it.”