Badminton is not all about hitting the shuttlecock back and forth over a net. It is a complex sport that requires a variety of skills and techniques.
If you’ve played badminton ever, you would know that it is a physically demanding sport. Even if you’re extremely fit, you will struggle if you don’t know the techniques in the sport.
If you’re a beginner in this sport, you must learn some of the basic techniques in badminton to compete well against your opponents. In this article, we will go through the most fundamental techniques of badminton that a player should learn.
Let’s dive right in.
Gripping Technique
The first and foremost thing that you need to learn in badminton is the gripping technique. A grip is a term used to refer to the way of holding a racket in badminton. How should you hold a badminton racket? Well, this is a really important question that you must answer.
There are different types of gripping techniques in badminton. For simplicity, let me introduce you to two fundamental grips: the forehand grip and the backhand grip.
The forehand grip is very similar to a friendly handshake. Just imagine that the grip of the racket is a hand that approaches you to shake your hand. Now hold the racket as if you’re handshaking, not tight, but in a relaxed way.
The backhand grip is similar to doing a thumbs up. A backhand grip uses the thumb on the flat end of the racket to generate power to the shots.
Also, it is important to learn how to switch between the forehand and backhand grips quickly so that you play both kinds of shots interchangeably and fastly.
If you want to learn about the gripping techniques in badminton, I suggest you check out this article. It will help you learn how to hold a racket properly and use the different grips in badminton.
Basic Footwork
Learning proper footwork is really important in badminton, both for singles and doubles. The right footwork in badminton is something that will help you to cover the whole court in an efficient way.
The technique is really simple, but you need some practice to make it muscle memory. The footwork in badminton singles has the center of the court (base position) as the focal point.
The ideal movement begins from the base position and ends at this position for a single shot. This cycle is repeated for each shot.
In general, we can classify the footwork movements into 6 based on the positions, i.e., movements to the four corners and two sideways movements.
Let’s say if you want to move to the right side of the forecourt, you’ll start the movement from the base position. Before each movement, you need to make a quick split step to get ready for the movement.
Then, you need to take a step with the non-racket foot towards the shuttle and lunge with the racket foot. Once you hit the shot, take a couple of steps backward and come back to the base position.
Similarly, you can move to the different corners of the court. If you need a visual demonstration, check out the following video and learn how to do these movements correctly.
If you need further information regarding basic footwork in badminton, check out this article.
Serves In Badminton
Once you’re good with the gripping and footwork, it’s time to focus on making your serves better. There are different types of serves in badminton, such as low serve, high serve, flick serve, etc.
In badminton doubles, most professional players often use the short serve since it is the least dangerous serve. The opponent can’t hit any attacking shots with the short serve if it is executed correctly.
Players also use the other serves to mix it up and not to make the serves predictable. In badminton singles, you’ll see more players using the high serve towards the baseline, especially in women’s singles.
Every rally starts with the service, and it is really important to play it correctly. If you’re doing the low serve, hit the shot just over the net so that it will land just beyond the short service line.
Don’t hit this shot in the air as it will be easy for the receiver to kill the rally with an attacking shot. The highest point in the trajectory of this shot should be just above the net.
If you’re hitting a high serve, try to hit it to the backside corner. Don’t overuse this serve against a good attacking player. You can use this service along with the low serve to add variety to your serves.
You can hit the different types of serves using either forehand or backhand. Most professional players use the backhand low serve as their go-to option.
If you want to learn in-depth about the various kinds of serves in badminton, check out this article. It will walk you through the different types of serves in badminton with pictures.
Receiving Serves
Just like serves, the service returns are also quite important in badminton. If you’re receiving a serve from your opponent, how would you return it in the best possible way? Well, there are many ways.
First of all, it depends on the type of service the opponent is playing. If it is a high serve, you have the option to attack immediately. You can either hit a powerful smash, a drop shot, or a clear shot.
If the opponent is hitting a low serve, you can either play a net shot or a lift. The goal of the return should be to control the rally or not give any advantage to your opponent.
Do not pre-meditate any shots and start moving your body in a direction. Focus on the opponent and the shuttlecock and try to judge the type of serve as quickly as possible. If you move faster, you’ll get more time to play the shot.
There are various ways to return serves to put your opponent under pressure. If you want to learn how to return a serve properly, check out this article, and implement the mentioned tips.
Basic Shots In Badminton
Now, let’s come to all the various shots in badminton. There are several different types of shots in badminton that you can master and add to your arsenal.
I suggest you not try all these shots at once. Try to learn one shot at a time and practice it several times to make it perfect. Once you’re good with that shot, pick up the next one, and practice it.
Some of the most important shots in badminton are smash, clear, drop shot, lob, drive, net shots, etc. These can be categorized into attacking and defensive shots.
The most important attacking shot in badminton is the smash, which is the most favorite shot for all badminton fans. The smash shot itself has a lot of varieties.
The drop shot is another attacking shot that you can use in badminton. This shot is more about accuracy and placement rather than power. If you want to master this shot, this article will help you.
Apart from these two shots, there are several other shots in badminton that you can use. It is difficult to learn all these shots at once. Learn them one by one and practice these shots as much as possible. Over time, you’ll definitely improve your game.
Final Thoughts
We’ve covered a big chunk of the fundamental techniques in badminton. However, this is not the end of badminton techniques. Badminton is a complex game with a lot of techniques and skills. We just scratched the surface of this beautiful sport.
You’ll learn more technical things as you play more. Try to play badminton with people who are more skillful than you. That will help you learn faster and improve your overall game. The more you play and practice, the better player you’ll become.
If you want to explore other technical and non-technical aspects of badminton, check out the rest of the articles on this website. We’ve created a lot of pieces of content to help you become a better player.
I hope this article was helpful to you. If so, do share it so that others can also find it.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy badminton!
Basic Positioning & Formations in Badminton Doubles
Badminton doubles is a completely different game than the singles game. Even if you’re a pretty good singles player, you can’t be good at doubles unless you have a great synchronization with your partner.
There are different positions that you can use as a team to play a strategic doubles game. Positioning is as important in doubles as footwork in singles.
If you’re a complete beginner in badminton doubles, you and your partner need to understand the basics of positioning in badminton doubles.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand the basic positioning in doubles. In this article, we will go through the important things so that you’ll become a great doubles player.
Let’s jump right in.
What Is Positioning In Badminton Doubles?
In badminton doubles, there are mainly two formations: attacking formation and defensive formation. Players need to use either of these two formations according to the situation of the rally.
If your team is taking the attack on your opponents, then you need to follow the attacking formation. If the opponents are hitting hard smashed to your court, then you need to be in the defensive formation.
Let’s look at the two of these formations in detail and understand the strategies.
Attacking Formation
The attacking formation in badminton needs one player to stand behind the other. Take a look at the picture given below to understand the positions.
In the attacking formation, both the players have different roles. The player who is standing behind (attacker) is responsible for hitting the attacking shots from the back of the court. Most often, he needs to hit hard smashes to keep on attacking. Sometimes, he can play the drop shots or other shots according to the situation.
The player who is standing in the front (setter) is the one who is responsible for securing the net position. This player can keep on hitting smashes to make the opponents lift the shuttle. If he gets a loose shot in the air, he can perform a net kill and end the rally.
The attacker needs to cover the back of the court, whereas the setter is in charge of covering the front of the court.
Most often, when the player who is standing behind hits a hard smash, the return will be a short defensive clear, and that will be an easy chance for the setter to hit a net kill.
The setter can intercept short and poor-quality defensive shots and smash them to end the rally. Both the players need to be in complete synchronization to attack the opponents efficiently without giving them a chance to come back in the rally.
If the opponents come back in the rally and gain the attacking position somehow, then your team should quickly change the formation to a defensive one.
Now, let’s understand what the defensive formation is in badminton doubles.
Defensive Formation
The defensive formation in badminton requires the two players to stand side-by-side to cover the entire width of the doubles court. In this formation, each player will cover their respective sides.
Take a look at the following image to understand the positioning in the defensive formation.
Whenever you are required to hit a high clear or high lift, then you need to quickly form the defensive formation so that you’ll be ready for an attacking smash from the opponents.
If you don’t cover the full width of the court using this formation, it will be easy for your opponents to pick a point by hitting a well-placed smash shot or a drop shot. So, whenever your team is under pressure, quickly form the defensive formation to cover the entire court.
You need to try to stand around the middle of the court, maybe a step behind the mid-court area, so that you’ll be able to react to the smashes along with taking the drop shots near the net.
When you return the hard smashes, try to hit a block defense and lift the shuttle back to the baseline of the opponent’s court. Do not hit a weak clear shot to the front or middle of the opponent’s court.
That will give the opponents a chance to kill the rally. Don’t give the setter of the opposite team a chance to intercept the return. Always try to hit the returns to the baseline.
Your position needs to vary slightly according to the shots. If you’re lifting the shuttle to the left side of the opponent’s court, then the left defender needs to cover the left corner of the court since the return will most probably be a straight smash. Then, the right defender needs to cover the middle of the court.
Even if the attacker hits a cross-court smash to the right side of your court, the right defender will have the time to move and pick that shot. So, you need to adjust the defensive formation according to the attacker’s position.
Whenever you get a chance to attack from a defensive position, hit a smash or drop and come back to the attacking formation. Make the opponents keep on lifting the shuttle so that you can gain control of the rally.
How To Change Formations Correctly?
How can you switch between the two formations correctly according to the game situations? Well, you can’t just plan about the formation and move accordingly when the rally is going on. You need to have a plan before the game and enough practice.
You need to practice the attacking and defensive formations and how to change the two formations. Initially, you might need to call out and change the formations based on the call. The player who is standing behind makes the call because the setter can’t see the attacker.
So, if the attacker hits a smash or a drop, he can call out “attack”, and they can be in the attacking formation. If the attacker hits a lift or clear, he can call out “defend”, and they can move to the defensive formation.
It is a little bit tricky thing. You need to have enough practice and coordination to master the formation change. If you’re confused, take a look at the following video and understand how you should change the formations.
As you’ve seen in the video, try to practice the formation change with your partner. It is very difficult for beginners. Remember that you’ll make a lot of mistakes. It will take some time and practice to get things right. Keep on practicing until you become pretty good at it.
Always give priority to the attacking formation. You should try to be in the attacking formation as long as possible. If you’re in a defensive formation, try to come back to the attacking formation (by fighting for the next attack) as soon as you can.
Final Thoughts
We’ve covered the basics of footwork and positioning in badminton doubles. If you’ve understood the theoretical concepts, put that into practice, and you’ll definitely become good at doubles.
I hope this article was helpful to you in learning something new about badminton. Check out the rest of the articles on this site to get more badminton tips and tricks.
If this article was useful to you, give it a share so that others will also find it.
If you want to know how to play badminton doubles with a weak partner, check out this complete guide.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy badminton!
How to Become a Better Badminton Player: 6 Great Tips!
How can you become a better badminton player? If you want to improve your badminton skills to a whole new level, you’ve come to the right place.
There are several different badminton tactics, techniques, and drills you can do to level up your game. In this article, I’ll share a few tips for you to help you become a better badminton player.
Without any further ado, let’s dive right in.
Watch Professional Badminton Matches Closely
If you’re a beginner in badminton or you don’t have much idea when it comes to playing the game, then the first thing I would suggest is to watch badminton games. That’s how I learned the game.
When I was young, we used to play badminton in my village. Since I was very interested in the game, I often watched the highly competitive international badminton games. When you watch something many times, and you’re interested in it, your subconscious mind will automatically pick up a lot of things, and it will help us to imitate what we watch.
Hence, I try to put the things I learn from watching these games into practice when I’m playing with my friends. That’s a great way to improve your game.
Also, when you watch the matches enough times, you’ll understand all the laws of the game. That way, you’ll not be embarrassed due to not knowing the rules of the game when you’re playing.
When I was playing doubles with my friends, I didn’t know all the exact rules, especially the service court changing. So, I was confused about that while playing and couldn’t give my complete focus on rallies.
But when I watched several international games, I was able to understand all the ins and outs of the game. That helped me gain confidence and clear my mind when I play.
By the way, if you want to know all the service rules in badminton, check out this article to learn everything.
So that’s my favorite tip. Watch top-quality matches and learn how the professionals play. Try to imitate that on the court.
Warm Up Before The Match
This is really critical, but many people don’t focus on it when they play games casually. Warming up before a match, even if that is a casual match with your friends, has a lot of benefits.
The main thing is to get a feel of the shuttle. Before you start a match, just hit the shuttle back and forth with your friend or your opponent to get used to the pace of the shuttle.
This can be very important because if you don’t do this, by the time you get a feel of the shuttle in a match, you might lose several points, mostly due to your own errors.
If you don’t believe me, you can try this and understand the difference. If you directly start a match without any touches, chances are you’ll make a lot of mistakes.
The next reason why you need to warm up is to avoid injuries. Do a few exercises before the match and get your body ready for playing. These warm-up exercises will improve your blood circulation, and you’ll be less prone to injuries.
Play Badminton With Better Players
Playing badminton with players who are better than you will improve your game exponentially. This is much more powerful than watching badminton matches because you’ll see a good player implementing his skills against you.
You might lose all the games initially. You might not even see the smashes they’re hitting against you. But don’t get embarrassed about it. Gradually, your game will become better, and you might even reach the level of your opponents.
I can’t stress enough how important this tip is. Play regularly against tougher opponents, and I bet you you’ll improve your game.
So the next time when you go with your friends to play a match, don’t choose easy opponents to play with you. Play against the best player in your gang, and try to learn from him/her.
Learn Basic Footwork And Technique
Footwork is key to badminton, especially in singles, because you need to cover the entire court all by yourself. So learning the fundamentals of footwork in badminton is worth the time.
You need the right footwork to move around the court (back and forth and sideways) most quickly so that you can reach all the shots from the opponents.
The basic footwork for all the shots in badminton starts from a base position. The base position can be the center of your court. After the serve, position yourself at the base position so that you have the best chance to reach all 4 corners of your court.
Once you move to a corner and return the shot, you need to come back to the base position as quickly as possible and get ready for the next shot.
Also, learn how to take the steps for moving to each corner. If you want to improve your footwork, I suggest you check out the complete guide I’ve written on Basic Footwork In Badminton. That will help you learn the right technique.
Once you learn the footwork, practice it several times. Try to practice moving your friend to the front and back continuously. Once you become good at this, practice hitting the shuttle to the left and right sides interchangeably.
After that, practice hitting the shuttle continuously to the 4 corners of the court one after the other. This will help you learn to place the shuttle correctly and improve your footwork.
Master All The Shots In The Game
By this time, you might already know the several different shots in badminton. Now, it’s time to improve your options and add some new shots to your arsenal.
Starting with the serve, you need to learn how to serve correctly and use some variations as well. There are several types of serves and try learning all of them. Check out the article on this website about the Types Of Serves In Badminton to learn them all.
Then move to the next part, which is returning serves. Click here to find out the article on that topic and learn the different types of service returns in badminton.
There are several other basic shots and varieties in this game. After learning the serves, the flicks, the lobs, the net shots, etc., improve your smashing skills.
Try to learn all the different shots in the game. If you have learned all the basic shots, you can even try some trick shots to add some deception to your game. Check out this comprehensive guide on Badminton Trick Shots to learn some of them and trick your opponents.
Practice And Play Badminton A Lot
The last thing I want to say is to play and practice the game as much as possible. Play the game every single day consistently, and after a period, when you look back, you’ll see that you’ve improved a lot in your game.
There are some factors such as momentum and consistency, which are really true when it comes to badminton or be it any sport. To excel in a physical sport like badminton, you need consistent match practices. The more you play the game, the better player you become.
If you don’t play for a while, you’ll find it difficult to come back to the game and play the same level that you were used to playing. So don’t allow laziness or other factors to drop your quality and consistency. Take proper care of your body and try to avoid injuries.
If you’ve reached a level and you want to compete against tougher opponents, join a badminton academy or a badminton club. Also, go and participate in badminton tournaments in your area. If you want to become a professional badminton player, this article will guide you.
One thing I want to add to all the above tips is to play with the best equipment. Choose the right products to make your game better.
Final Thoughts
We’ve gone through the basics and covered a lot of things to improve your badminton. The last thing you don’t want to do is to walk away after reading this article without implementing any of these tips.
That will only waste your time reading this article without making any progress in your game. So, I urge you to implement all the mentioned tips. Hopefully, with more practice, you’ll become really good at badminton.
I hope this article was helpful to you in learning some new things related to badminton. If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, do share it so that others can also find it.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy badminton!
9 Badminton Skills Every Player Should Master
It is important to master the basic skills in any sport to improve your game. Similarly, in badminton, there are certain skills you need to master for consistent performance.
Both, a beginner and a professional player have to work on these skills to make it to the top. Besides, if you don’t have your basics perfected, it will impact your game in the long run.
Moreover, anybody can master the basic skills required for playing badminton. Well, in this article, I have enlisted a few of the basic skills that every player must focus on to develop.
Effective Warm-up
While playing badminton, almost all muscles of the body are used as it’s a high-intensity sport. Therefore, you should know how to warm up properly before entering the court. A full-body warm-up is important, otherwise, it could lead to injuries. You must be properly warmed up at the start of the match rather than gaining momentum after 4-5 rallies.
Well, a warm-up doesn’t need to be for a long time, you can go an extensive warm-up in 5-10 minutes. Here are a few ideas for a short warm-up-
- Skipping (1000-1500)
- A 5-10 minutes jog around the badminton hall
- A small routine of jumping jacks, squats, burpees, and lunges.
My coach used to suggest to warm up till my shirt drenches with sweat. Therefore, keep warming up till you feel sweat dripping at least down your face. That’s the time you are ready for a match or training routine.
Gripping
Learning how to hold a grip is a fundamental skill in badminton. Without this, you would not be able to play properly. The forehand grip and backhand grip are the primary grips that a player starts with.
Moreover, the right grip gives you control over the shots while avoiding the chances of a wrist injury.
Forehand and Backhand Grip
The forehand grip is similar to a friendly handshake. Remember to keep the handshake friendly to not form a tight grip. A tight grip restricts the flexibility of the wrist which could lead to injuries. Moreover, the index finger controls the racket in this grip and the thumb should be comfortably placed at the wider surface of the grip.
In a backhand grip, the thumb controls the racket and it should be placed a bit tight on the wider surface of the grip. You need to push the thumb forward while hitting backhand strokes.
Specialize these two grips to enhance your game.
If you want to learn the different grips in badminton, check out this illustrated guide with pictures of each grip.
Stance
A stance is how you stand in badminton before and during a rally. It’s the basics of building good footwork and speed around the court. A correct stance will make a huge difference in badminton. There are different stances your need to remember in badminton.
- While receiving a service, you should stand with your non-racket leg in front and racket leg behind with your hand in front of your chest. Your body should be slightly bending forward.
- After a serve, you should quickly move to a ready position standing in the middle of the court with feet comfortably apart and slightly bending your knees to be ready for any shot that comes your way.
- Defensive stance: You need to be ready in a defensive stance when your opponent is likely to attack you with a full/half smash. So, stand with your feet wide apart and your racket at waist level facing the body at the net. Remember to stay on your toes and bend a little at this stance.
- Net stance: While hitting a net shot, you need to lunge properly with your racket side leg forward and your hands fully extended slightly above the waist level. Shift the body weight forward while receiving the shuttle.
- Attacking stance: In this stance, your body should be slightly inclined with your racket leg behind and both legs shoulder feet apart. To generate power, you need to raise your non racket as well as racket arm to attack the shuttle downwards effectively.
Footwork
Efficient footwork is crucial in badminton. Without it, it gets difficult to cover the court. It is considered the most important skill in badminton. Footwork helps you play important shots as it helps you reach the shuttle better and faster.
Well, there are many footwork routines you can practice depending on your level of play. According to me, the most important and basic footwork is six corners. In this, you can place six shuttles on the six corners of the badminton court.
Collect every shuttle to one corner and place them back. Likewise, do this for all the six corners and record your timing. Eventually, try to improve your timing. It will help to improve speed as well as your footwork.
If you want to learn more about the basic footwork in badminton, check out this article.
Serve
A badminton rally starts with a serve. It is the most important element in your game. You must be very careful with your serves otherwise; it could lead to faults and you can lose points. Basically, there are two basic serves you should master at the beginning- short serve and long serve.
The high serve aims at the backend corner of your opponent and the low serve aims at the front of the court. A low serve is predominantly used in doubles and men’s singles as it prevents your opponent from executing a smash.
Get yourself accustomed to these serves properly and then you can advance to practice the drive serve and flick serve.
Click here to learn more about the different types of serves in badminton.
Basic Shots
In badminton, your game is improved when you start playing a variety of shots during a game. Well, mastering these shots take time but just mastering them is not enough. You should know when and how to use them during a game. The basic shots in badminton are-
- The Lift
- The Smash
- The Net Shot
- The Drop Shot
- The Block
- The Clear
All these shots can be played forehand and backhand. Also, there are various static and non-static drills you can practice to improve your shots along with your footwork. Mastering these shots will strengthen your base as a badminton player after which you advance to variations using these shots.
Rules
There is a set of predefined rules set by the BWF. Every player whether beginner or professional should have adequate knowledge of these rules. Knowing the rules is a skill as it will help you to not lose silly points due to faults in the game.
You should know all the rules concerning the serves, singles and doubles and also the scoring rules.
Anticipation
This skill comes with experience and a lot of practice but yes, it is very important. It is the ability to intercept the next shot or style of play of your opponent. For this, presence of mind and extreme observation is required.
Being aware of your opponent’s weakness, strength, ability to identify when they are tired and many more factors help you to improve this skill. Moreover, if you have the skill to anticipate your opponent’s next shot, you have created an added advantage to your game.
If you observe matches of top players like Lin Dan, Kento Momota, Tai Tzu Ying, etc, you will observe that sometimes they have anticipated the opponent’s shot well in advance which helps them in taking it early and winning a point. Well, this is what I mean by anticipation.
Strategic Thinking
Badminton is a complex game so you need to plan strategies on how you want to improve and win a game. Players and coaches use different strategies depending on the opponents in the long run.
For instance, a simple strategy for a doubles player should be to keep the shuttle at the net forcing a lift from the opponent so that you are on the attacking side.
Well, if you are on the winning side, there is not much change required. However, if you are on the losing side, there is something you need to change in your game and must strategize properly.
Visualization is a key skill that can help you to take maximum advantage of your skills and identify the weaknesses of your opponent. Moreover, you can analyze a video of your match and see where you went wrong and where you excelled.
Final Thoughts
Incorporate this list in your everyday practice and surely it will help to develop your game significantly. Keep practicing using different drills and above all, remember to have fun.
Enjoy while training as this will help to enhance your game even more. Skills are developed over time so be patient and dedicated to the sport and your body to see the results.
If you need some more useful tips to improve your game, check out the article that I’ve written on 10 Great Tips To Improve Your Badminton Game.
I hope this article was helpful. Thanks for reading!
How to Become a Professional Badminton Player?
Badminton is a very popular and competitive sport around the World. The love for this sport is abundant, and many young players are longing to establish themselves as professional badminton players.
Renowned personalities like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, and many more inspire badminton lovers to take up the sport. While some consider it as a hobby, some aspire to make a career in the sport.
However, most of them do not map themselves properly to becoming professional players. You need to be very organized and committed to your journey to becoming a professional player.
Well, if you possess the necessary qualities, talent, and skill, then your tenacity and dedication will lead you to success. Most people want to make a career in badminton, but they lack the knowledge to reach their goal efficiently. Moreover, you might be wondering how to become a professional player?
In this article, I’ll explain a few tips and suggestions that will help you to start your career to become a professional badminton player. It is important to follow certain steps and guidelines to become a professional player and make a career in the sport.
Understand And Know The Game
If you know badminton, then only you will be able to play it. During your training, get familiarized with every type of shot in badminton. You should know the rules and regulations, technical shots like the smash, drop, and many more. It will take time but learn how to execute all the badminton shots correctly.
The game is not only about the shots but also about the footwork. Practice the footwork needed for every shot rigorously. You must be aware of when to jump, when not to jump, and which shot to use during a rally.
Understanding and getting familiar with the game is the first step in your journey to becoming a professional player. Some key elements that you should learn are:
- How to hold a badminton racquet?
- Different types of shots in badminton
- Footwork
- Mental strength
- Skills
Start At The Right Age
Age does not matter when you follow your passion. However, to become a professional player, you need to start early around the age of 7-8. It takes time to learn and get familiarised with the game. Therefore, it is recommended to start at an early age.
When you start early, you get enough time to work on your skills and abilities. Also, you will understand in which category you should play either doubles or singles. At a younger age, the human body responds better to physical training and remembers all essential guidelines in a game.
Fitness
Badminton is the fastest sport in the World. You need to be physically and mentally strong to enter the professional world of badminton. There is no shortcut to becoming a professional. Speed is an essential requirement for playing efficiently.
A badminton match is a set of 2-3 games that can go on for an average of 40-60 min. To play a match, you will require strength (both physical and mental), agility, speed, reaction time, and stamina.
There should be a combination of efficient footwork and handwork to jump, smash and run while receiving or executing shots. Fitness is one thing you need to bear in mind throughout your journey. You will have to put in a countless number of hours practicing so that you gain an edge over your opponent.
Maintain a proper fitness regime, diet plan to control your body weight and fitness. You will observe that all the elite badminton players across the globe are fit and follow a dedicated fitness regime.
Research has proved that it takes about 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, mainly sports.
Develop Your Skills
You might have heard of the former badminton player, Taufik Hidayat. Well, he was famous for his game and one particular skill- His Backhand. Every player has a different skill set.
Practice and hone your skills in a good range of strokes in the game. You should be able to identify when and where to play a particular shot. The coordination of your hands, wrist, and shoulder is also very crucial.
Not only this, understanding your opponent is very crucial in a game of badminton. You should be able to respond according to the situations that come for you.
Develop your game and skills and be accurate with all the details required for every badminton shot. In the long run, with extraordinary skills and fitness, you will be very close to meeting your dream.
Play Against Better Opponents
You need to play against opponents who challenge you. This is the best way of improving your skills and preparing yourself to face tougher opponents in your professional career. While you may feel good playing with players whom you beat easily, it is not beneficial for your game. Talk to good and elite players around you and keep learning from them.
Equipment
The magic sword while playing badminton is your racquet. Also, there are several types of equipment available that help you in improving your game. Select the equipment that you are comfortable with.
In today’s world, there are several options for a racquet. You should be able to identify the one which suits your style of play. Also, your shoes play a very important role. Not wearing proper shoes could lead to injuries and can also affect your footwork.
Therefore, purchase the right equipment with the right quality. Everything has an expiry date. You should know when you need to change your equipment and purchase and a new one. Do not compromise on this aspect during your career.
Coaching
The role of the coach plays a very essential role in defining your career. Depending on the country you live in, search for the best badminton academies out there and enroll yourself for the same. Pay close attention to what your coach teaches you and make the best possible use of coaching.
However, even if you have the best coach, you will have to work hard and practice regularly to achieve results. An elite player practices for around 8 hours a day. Therefore, prepare yourself for more hard work and hard training. Your hard work will reap its results.
Keep Learning and Watching
During your free time, watch videos of the elite badminton players. Follow all the updates on the sport. In such matches, observe the footwork, skills, and abilities of the players. Try to practically incorporate these into your game.
Many articles and videos teach you how to execute different types of shots correctly. Watch and read them, as this will help you to increase your knowledge of the game. Also, keep sharing your skills and knowledge with others. This will help in the development of the badminton community.
Final Thoughts
An elite player does not reach the International stage directly. Start playing district, regional, or collegiate games at the start. This will give a live experience on how to handle pressure during a badminton game.
When you start young, try and play as many school competitions as you can. This will prepare you for the future. Therefore, be updated with all local tournaments in your area and participate in them.
In the World, many players leave the sport because of the added expenditure. Sometimes it gets difficult to afford shoes, racquets, and many more things. Well, there are many sponsorships and scholarships available that help you in the long run. These scholarships are given based on performance and many other factors.
Therefore, work hard, try to win tournaments, which will help you in getting scholarships. Some countries also offer job security to players once they reach the National level.
When you work hard, success will fall in place. Therefore, be focused on your goal and work hard to reach it. I hope I have motivated you to take up the sport professionally. Start practicing now, and eventually, you will see the difference in yourself.
If this article was helpful, I would appreciate it if you’d be willing to share it. It will help more people to find this resource and use it to become future badminton stars.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the game!
Lob Shot In Badminton: A Complete Guide
Do you want to play the lob shot perfectly in a badminton match? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go through the basics of this shot and the technique behind it.
The lob shot is an easy to learn but very effective shot in badminton. It’s very simple for beginners to learn compared to the other shots in badminton, such as smash, drop, etc. The problem with beginners is that they often do not execute the shot correctly.
Let’s have a closer look at this shot and understand how to execute it correctly in a badminton match.
What Is A Lob Shot?
Normally, the lob shot in badminton would be played using an underarm action from the forecourt area. The goal of hitting this shot is to lob (lift) the shuttle over your opponent to land as close to the baseline as possible.
If the shuttle is lobbed towards the middle area of the court, then that would make it very easy for the opponent to attack and get an easy point. Beginners often tend to make this mistake a lot. So, it’s important to hit the shuttle to the baseline so that the opponent will find it difficult to attack you.
It would take some practice for you to hit the lob shot consistently towards your target area. So, try to practice hitting this shot and make it perfect.
How To Execute A Lob Shot Correctly?
You can play the lob shot either with forehand or backhand. Let’s see how you can execute the shot in the right way.
This shot is played when the opponent hits a shot to the forecourt area. Move your racket forwards with your wrist cocked and take the steps towards the shuttle. Then, take a lunge step with your racket foot towards where the shuttlecock is going to land.
When the shuttle drops, do an underarm swing forwards and strike the shuttlecock upwards while straightening your wrist. Continue the follow-through action and finish it above the non-racket shoulder.
As soon as you finish the shot, move back towards the base position. You can play this shot and high and deep towards the baseline as a defensive strategy. This will give you a lot more time to prepare for the next shot.
Make sure you play with the proper footwork technique. If you think you’re not good with footwork in badminton, check out this article to master the footwork.
Playing it with the right pace and height is really key. The lob shot should be played with only just enough height so that the shuttle goes beyond your opponent’s reach.
Take a look at this YouTube video to understand how to play the lob shot correctly.
Types Of Lob Shot In Badminton
The lob shot can be played in different ways using both forehand and backhand. In general, let’s classify the lob shots into two categories: defensive lob shots and attacking lob shots.
Defensive Lob Shot
The defensive lob shot is a slow and high shot that is played towards the baseline of your opponent’s court.
Most people play this shot more often than the attacking shot just to push the opponent to the backside of the court. Singles players use this shot more often than doubles players.
This shot can be very useful if you want to slow down the game and get ready for the next shot if you’re out of position. This shot isn’t so dangerous if executed correctly.
If you’re a slow player and the opponent is an attacking player, you can use this shot to frustrate the opponent.
But the problem with this shot is that it will give away your attacking position in the rally. The opponent can take the attack back to you. So, try to use the shot suitably.
Attacking Lob Shot
You can use the lob as an attacking option as well. This shot also goes over the opponent’s reach, but the major difference is that this shot is flat and quick.
When you use this shot, try to play it over your opponent’s reach as little as possible. It will push the opponent towards the back area of the court but yet is pressurized by the speed of the shot.
Play this shot to the corners when the opponent is not at all expecting it to catch him/her off guard. This shot will not give away the attack, and your opponent won’t have much time to hit a jump smash.
Still, it is a pretty dangerous shot, especially if your opponent can intercept it mid-court. Also, there is a huge chance of hitting the shot outside the court. Also, it will give you less time to recover for the next shot.
So, try to play this shot only if the game circumstances are favorable.
As you’ve seen, both the defensive lob shot and the attacking lob shot have various pros and cons. It’s up to you to use which kind of shot in your game.
Before you go and try these shots in the game, practice it several times with a friend. Once you master this shot, it will be easy for you to make the right decisions and play the shot correctly.
Final Thoughts
We’ve gone through the fundamentals of the lob shot in badminton. Enough with the theoretical concepts. Now, go to a badminton court and practice the shot several times.
The more you practice anything, the better you’ll become at it. So, spend some time practicing the shot. If you think you’re good at executing this shot, use it while you’re playing the match. With time, you’ll become a master of this shot.
I hope this article was helpful to you in learning some new things about badminton. If so, do share it so that others can also find it.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the game!