online badminton

Advanced strokes

2009-07-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

Francesca Setiadi, Canada, flies high at the Golden Gate Open in San Francisco, 2006Advanced strokes are typically variations on a basic stroke. Often the purpose of an advanced stroke is to deceive the opponent, but advanced strokes may also be used to manipulate the flight path of the shuttlecock by introducing spin. Spin may cause the shuttlecock to follow a curved path and to dip more steeply as it falls.

A common technique for advanced strokes is slicing, where the shuttle is hit with an angled racket face. Often players brush the racket face around the shuttlecock to achieve more spin from their slice. Slices can be used to deceive opponents about the direction in which the player is going to hit the shuttle, and to make apparently powerful strokes that travel slowly (a dropshot may be disguised as a smash).

The lightness of modern rackets allows good players to play many strokes with a short swing. This skill provides opportunities for deception, because the player may pretend to play a soft stroke (such as a netshot), but then accelerate the racket at the last moment to play a more powerful stroke (such as a lift). This form of deception may also be reversed: players may pretend to play a powerful stoke, but then decelerate the racket at the last moment to play a soft stroke. In general, the former type of deception is more common towards the front of the court, whereas the latter type of deception is more common towards the back of the court.

Another technique for deception is double motion. In this technique, the player will make an initial motion towards the shuttlecock and then quickly withdraw the racket to hit the shuttlecock in a different direction. The aim is to show the opponent one direction but then quickly place the shuttlecock elsewhere. Some players may even use triple motion, although this is much rarer.

The following lists are not comprehensive; the scope for advanced strokes in badminton is large, in particular for deceptive strokes.

Sliced strokes

Sliced dropshot
A sliced dropshot allows the player to deceive his opponent about both the power and direction of the stroke. For example, the opponent may expect a straight clear or smash, but receive a crosscourt dropshot instead. Slicing the shuttlecock heavily will cause it to follow a curved path and dip more sharply as it crosses the net. There are two types of sliced dropshots - the normal slice and the reverse slice. The normal slice is played so that the shuttle goes left while the receiver thinks it goes right, however the reverse slice requires more of a brushing motion in order to slice the shuttle to the right while the opponent thinks the drop is being played to the left.

Sliced smash
A sliced smash allows the player to deceive his opponent about the direction of his smash. Slicing a smash also allows players to hit in directions that they might otherwise find impossible given their body position on the court.

Spinning netshot (also called a tumbling netshot)
Slicing underneath the shuttlecock allows the player to spin the shuttlecock so that it turns over itself several times as it crosses the net. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its flight. The spin also makes the shuttlecock fall tighter to the net.

Sliced low serves
Slicing the low serve may be used both for the straight low serve and for the wide low serve to the left side lines (for a righthander).

Sliced straight low serve
The purpose of slicing this serve is to not to change the direction, but to make the shuttle dip more steeply as it passes the net. The slicing may also cause the shuttle to wobble or shake in the air (introducing precession to the shuttle's flight), making it harder for the receiver to time and control his reply.

Sliced wide low serve
The purpose of slicing this serve is to deceive the opponent into believing that a straight serve, either low or flicked, is being played. For a righthander, the racket head will move at least slightly from left to right, but the shuttlecock will be sent to the left.

Deceptive strokes from the net

Deceptive lift (hold and flick)
The player holds the racket ready for a netshot, but at the last moment flicks the shuttlecock to the rearcout instead. This is mainly used in singles.

Deceptive crosscourt netshot (breaking the wrist)
The player holds the racket ready for a straight netshot, but at the last moment turns the racket face sideways to play the shuttle across the net instead. This is so called since the action required to perform this manoeuvre looks as if the wrist has been twisted badly in the opposite direction to the original movement; hence the name - breaking the wrist.

Racket head fakes
The player begins a stroke from the net in one direction, but then slightly alters the direction by rotating the racket head during the hitting. This can be used to make it harder for opponents to return net drives and pushes. A more pronounced racket head fake may be produced by using double motion, but this requires that the player have more time to perform the lengthier deception.

Specialised net kill techniques

Short-action net kill
This is a technique for killing shuttecocks that are close to the net tape. The player uses a very short forwards tapping motion to avoid hitting the net tape (which is a fault). The tapping action makes use of sudden tightening of the fingers to create power.

Brush net kill
This is a more difficult technique for killing shuttlecocks that are extremely close to the net tape. The player swipes the racket nearly parallel to the tape instead of hitting forwards. With a slight turning of the racket face during the swipe, the shuttlecock may be struck steeply downwards and in the direction of the swipe. For both forehand and backhand brush net kills, the swiping action is inwards to the centre.

Basic strokes

2009-07-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

There are many strokes in badminton; below is a list of basic strokes, which is divided into strokes played from the forecourt, midcourt, and rearcourt (the forecourt is the part of the court near the net, the rearcourt is the part of the court farthest away from the net, and the midcourt is the area in between them).

This list does not include every possible stroke, but only the strokes that are commonly played from that part of the court. The descriptions also assume that the players are of a very high standard and are making sensible choices of strokes.

Strokes played from the forecourt

Serve

The serve begins a rally. Serves are subject to several service laws that limit the attacking potential for service. The overall effect of these laws is that the server must hit in an upwards direction; "tennis serves" are prohibited. The serve is always cross court (diagonal).

Low serve

The low serve travels into the receiver's forecourt, to fall on or just after the opponents short service line. Low serves must travel as close to the net tape as possible, or they will be attacked fiercely. In doubles, the straight low serve is the most frequently used service variation.

High serve

The high serve is hit very high, so that the shuttle falls vertically at the back of the receiver's service court. The high serve is never used in doubles, but is common in singles.
Flick serve
Although the flick serve is hit upwards, the trajectory is much shallower than the high serve.
Drive serve
Drive serves are hit flat to the back of the receiver's service court. The drive serve is almost never used in elite games, because it relies on the receiver being unprepared. If the receiver reacts well, then the drive serve will be severely punished.

Netshot
A netshot is played into the opponent's forecourt, as close to the net as possible.

Net kill
The net kill is a shot which aims to kill the shuttle into the floor very close to the opponent's side of the net. The trajectory is almost vertical. It is commonly used to punish a poor low serve. The net kill is executed with a sudden, powerful 'tapping' motion produced by the wrist. This technique helps to eliminate the danger of hitting the net.

Long kill
The long kill is a net kill that is not so steep and therefore travels towards the rearcourt. A long kill is only used if a steeper kill cannot be played. It is similar to a net drive, but much more aggressive. The long kill can be played when returning a poor low serve.

Net drive, net push, net lift
These strokes are all the same as their midcourt counterparts, which are described below.

Strokes played from the midcourt

With the exception of the smash, all midcourt strokes are played with the shuttle either near the ground, or about net height, or slightly higher than net height. If the shuttle is ever high in the midcourt, a powerful smash will be played to finish the rally.

Drive
A drive is played when the shuttle is near net height, at the side of the player's body. Drives pass with pace into the opponent's midcourt or rearcourt. Although drives are played with pace, very high shuttle speed is not desirable because the shuttle will go out at the back. The trajectory of a drive is approximately flat.

Half-court drive
A drive played from in front of the body, usually hitting the shuttle from nearer the net than an ordinary drive.

Push
A push is played from the same situation as a drive, but played softly into the opponent's forecourt or front midcourt.
Half-court push
A push played from in front of the body, usually hitting the shuttle from nearer the net than an ordinary push.

Lift
A lift is played upwards to the back of the opponent's court. Midcourt lifts are most commonly played in response to a smash or well-placed push.
Defensive lift
A lift that is hit very high, so that the player gains time for recovery to a good base position. Defensive lifts, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, force the opponent to hit from the extreme back of the court.
Attacking lift
A lift that is hit more shallowly, so that the opponent is forced to move very quickly to prevent the shuttle from travelling behind him. Attacking lifts, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, may be intercepted slightly earlier than defensive lifts.

Smash
See the smash entry under rearcourt strokes, below. A midcourt smash is especially devastating.

Strokes played from the rearcourt
In the rearcourt, most strokes are played overhead. If the shuttle has dropped low in a player's rearcourt, so that he is unable to play an overhead stroke, then he is at a great disadvantage and is likely to lose the rally. The following strokes are all played from overhead:

Clear

A clear travels high and to the back of the opponent's rearcourt.

Defensive clear
A clear that is hit very high, so that the player gains time for recovery to a good base position. Defensive clears, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, force the opponent to hit from the extreme back of the court.

Attacking clear
A clear that is hit more shallowly, so that the opponent is forced to move very quickly to prevent the shuttle from travelling behind him. Attacking clears, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, may be intercepted slightly earlier than defensive clears.

Smash

A smash is a powerful stroke, played so that the shuttle travels steeply downwards at great speed into the opponent's midcourt.

Jump smash
A smash where the player jumps for height. The aim of a jump smash is to hit the smash at a steeper angle. Jump smashes are most common in men's doubles.

Dropshot
A dropshot is played downwards into the opponent's forecourt. Dropshots are usually disguised as smashes or clears, so that the opponent cannot anticipate the dropshot.

Equipment

2009-07-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

Badminton racquetsRacquet: A racquet is a vital piece of equipment in badminton. Traditionally racquets were made of wood. Later on, aluminium or other light metals became the material of choice. Badminton racquets are composed of carbon fibre composite ( graphite reinforced plastic), with titanium composites ( nanocarbon) added as extra ingredients. Carbon fibre has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent kinetic energy transfer. They are two types of racquet: isometric (square) and oval. Racquets normally weigh between 80-95 g but weight differs between manufacturers, as it can affect how fast the racquet can swing.

Grip:

Grip is the interface between the player's hand and the racquet. Type, size and thickness are three characteristics that affect the choice of grip. There are two types of grips: synthetic and towel. Synthetic grips are less messy and provide excellent friction. Towel grips are usually preferred as they are usually more comfortable and absorbent of sweat. Both have disadvantages as synthetic grips can deteriorate if too much sweat is absorbed and towel grips need to be changed often.

String:

Perhaps one of the most overlooked areas of badminton equipment is the string. Different types of string have different response properties. Durability generally varies with performance. Most strings are 21 gauge in thickness and strung at 18 to 30 lbf (80 to 130 newtons) of tension. Racquets strung at lower tensions (18 to 21 lbf or 80 to 95 N) generate greater power while racquets strung at higher tensions provide greater control (21 lbf, over 95 N). Simply, a higher tension rewards hard hitting, while it robs power from a light hitter. Conversely, a lower tensioned string helps light hitter with a better timed trampoline effect.

Shuttlecocks with feather skirts

A shuttlecock with a plastic skirtShuttlecock: A shuttlecock has an open conical shape, with a rounded head at the apex of the cone, they are made of cork and overlapped by sixteen goose feathers. There are different speeds and weights, but for easy classification, 75 is regarded as slow and 79 is the fastest shuttlecock. The feather shuttle is fairly brittle and thus for economical reasons this has been replaced by the use of a plastic (usually nylon) or rubber head and a plastic (usually nylon) skirt for practice use.

Shoes:

Because acceleration across the court is so important, players need excellent grip with the floor at all times. Badminton shoes need gummy soles for good grip, reinforced side walls ( lateral support) for durability during drags, and shock dispersion technology for jumping; badminton places a lot of stress on the knees and ankles. Like most sports shoes, they are also light weight. They have a thin but well supported sole with good lateral support to keep the player’s feet close to the ground, allowing for speed and ankle bending directional changes with lower chance of injury; light weight for faster foot movement.

Laws of the Game

2009-07-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

The following information is a simplified summary of the Laws, not a complete reproduction. The definitive source of the Laws is the IBF Laws publication, although the digital distribution of the Laws contains poor reproductions of the diagrams.

Playing court dimensions

Badminton court, isometric viewThe court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are almost always marked for both singles and doubles play, although the laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but the doubles service court is shorter than the singles service court.

The full width of the court is 6.1 metres, and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres. The full length of the court is 13.4 metres. The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.78 metres from the back boundary.

The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles side lines, even when singles is played.

Surprisingly, there is no mention in the Laws of a minimum height for the ceiling above the court. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.

Equipment laws

The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the Laws restrict the design and size of rackets and shuttlecocks. The Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:

-To test a shuttle, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line. The shuttle shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.

-A shuttle of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line....

Scoring system and service

A point shall be added to a player's score whenever he wins a rally.

A match consists of the best of three games; a game is won by the first player to score 21 points, except if the score reaches 20 points each; in this case, play shall continue until one player either achieves a two point lead (such as 24-22), or his score reaches 30 (the score shall not extend beyond 30: 30-29 is a winning score).

At the start of a match a coin toss is conducted between the players or pairs. The winners of the coin toss may make one of two choices: they may choose whether to serve or receive first, or they may choose which end of the court they wish to occupy. After they have made this choice, their opponents shall exercise the remaining choice. In less formal settings, the coin toss is often replaced by hitting a shuttle into the air: whichever side it points to shall serve first.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game shall serve first. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players shall change ends at the start of the second game; if the match proceeds to a third game, the players shall change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair's score reaches 11 points.

In singles, the server shall stand in his right service court when his score is even, and in his left service court when his score is odd; his opponent shall stand in the diagonally opposite service court.

In doubles, the players shall remember their service positions from the previous rally; the receivers shall remain in the same service courts. When a receiving pair wins a point and thereby regains the service, they shall not change their service court positions. If their new score is even, then the player in the right service court shall serve; if their new score is odd, then the player in the left service court shall serve. Thereafter, if they continue to win points, the server shall alternate between the service courts, so that he serves to each receiver in turn.

There are several notable consequences of this system. First, rally point scoring ensures that the start of the game is fairer than under the older scoring system; without rally point scoring, serving at the start of the game is a significant advantage. Second, there is no "second server", unlike under the older scoring system. Third, each time a pair regains the service, the service court laws ensure that the server shall be the player who did not serve last.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, so that their feet do not touch the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttle. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not unsight the opposing server or receiver.

Faults

Players win a rally by striking the shuttle onto the floor within the boundaries of their opponents' court. Players also win a rally if their opponents commit a fault. The most common fault in badminton is when the players fail to return the shuttle so that it passes over the net and lands inside their opponents' court, but there are also other ways that players may be faulted. The following information lists some of the more common faults.

Several faults pertain specifically to service. A serving player shall be faulted if he strikes the shuttle from above his waist (defined as his lowest rib), or if his racket is not pointing downwards at the moment of impact. This particular law changed in 2006: previously, the server's racket had to be pointing downwards to the extent that the racket head was below the hand holding the racket; now, any angle below the horizontal is acceptable.

Neither the server nor the receiver may lift a foot until the shuttle has been struck by the server. The server must also initially hit the base (cork) of the shuttle, although he may afterwards also hit the feathers as part of the same stroke. This law was introduced to ban an extremely effective service style known as the S-serve or Sidek serve, which allowed the server to make the shuttle spin chaotically in flight.

Each side may only strike the shuttle once before it passes back over the net; but during a single stroke movement, a player may contact a shuttle twice (this happens in some sliced shots). A player may not, however, hit the shuttle once and then hit it with a new movement, nor may he carry and sling the shuttle on his racket.

It is a fault if the shuttle hits the ceiling.

Lets

If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur due to some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttle landing on court (having being hit there by players on an adjacent court).

If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet if the receiver makes any attempt to return the shuttle, he shall be judged to have been ready.

There is no let if the shuttle hits the tape (even on service).

Scoring system development

2009-07-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

In the traditional scoring system, games were played to 15 points, except for women's singles which was played up to 11. A match was decided by the best of three games. Only the serving players were able to score a point. In doubles, both players of a pair would serve before the service returned to the other side: in order to regain the service, the receiving pair had to win two rallies (not necessarily consecutively).

In 1992, the IBF introduced new rules: setting at 13-all and 14-all. This meant that if the players were tied at 13-13 or 14-14 (9-9 or 10-10 for women's singles), the player who had first reached that score could decide elect to set and play to 17 (or to 13 for women's singles).

In 2002 the IBF, concerned with the unpredictable and often lengthy time required for matches, decided to experiment with a different scoring system to improve the commercial and especially the broadcasting appeal of the sport. The new scoring system shortened games to 7 points and decided matches by the best of 5 games. When the score reached 6-6, the player who first reached 6 could elect to set to 8 points.

Yet the match time remained an issue, since the playing time for the two scoring systems was similar. This experiment was abandoned and replaced by a modified version of the traditional scoring system. The 2002 Commonwealth Games is the last event used this scoring system.

In December 2005 the IBF experimented again with the scoring system, intending both to regulate the playing time and to simplify the system for television viewers. The main change from the traditional system was to adopt rally point scoring, in which the winner of a rally scores a point regardless of who served; games were lengthened to 21 points. However, the new scoring system makes the game duration significantly shorter. The experiment ended in May 2006, and the IBF ruled that the new scoring system would be adopted from August 2006 onwards. This scoring system is described in full in Scoring system and service, below.

History and development

2009-07-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

Battledore and Shuttlecock, an antecedent to the modern game of Badminton. 1854, from the John Leech ArchiveBadminton is widely believed to have originated in ancient Greece about 2000 years ago. From there it spread via the Indo-Greek kingdoms to Indian and then further east to China and Siam (now Thailand).

In England since medieval times a children's game called Battledore and Shuttlecock was popular. Children would use paddles (Battledores) and work together to keep the Shuttlecock up in the air and prevent it from reaching the ground. It was popular enough to be a nuisance on the street of London in 1854 when the magazine Punch published a cartoon depicting it.

In the 1860s, British Army officers in Pune, India, began playing the game of Battledore and Shuttlecock, but they added a competitive element by including a net. As the city of Pune was formerly known as Poona, the game was known as Poona at that time.

About this same time, the Duke of Beaufort was entertaining soldiers at his estate called " Badminton House", where the soldiers played Poona. The Duke of Beaufort’s non-military guests began referring to the game as "the badminton game", and thus the game became known as "badminton".

In 1877, the first badminton club in the world, Bath Badminton Club, transcribed the rules of badminton for the first time. However, in 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first proper set of rules, similar to that of today, and officially launched badminton in a house called 'Dunbar' at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.

The International Badminton Federation (IBF) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The IBF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.

Introduction to Badminton

2009-07-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles). The players or pairs take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net.

Unlike many racquet sports, badminton does not use a ball: badminton uses a feathered projectile known as a shuttlecock. Since the shuttlecock is strongly affected by wind, competitive badminton is always played indoors.

General Description

The players strike the shuttlecock with their rackets so that it passes over the net and into the opponents' half of the court. The rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the ground: every stroke must be played as a volley. In doubles, either player of a pair may hit the shuttlecock (except on service), but only a single stroke is allowed before the shuttlecock passes again into the opponents' court. Players are awarded a point if the shuttlecock lands on or within the marked boundary of their opponents' court, or if their opponent's stroke fails to pass the net or lands outside the court boundary.

A rally begins with the service, in which the serving player must strike the shuttlecock so that, if left, it would land in the diagonally opposite service court. In doubles, only one player, the receiver, may return the service (thereafter either player may hit the shuttlecock); the order of doubles service is determined by the Laws, which ensure that all the players shall serve and receive in turn. If the server wins the rally, he will continue serving; if he loses the rally, the serve will pass to his opponent. In either case, the winner will add a point to his score.

A match consists of three games; to win each game players must score 21 points (exceptions noted below). There are five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (each pair is a man and a woman).