Strategies Used In Badminton

Singles:

1. Recognize your strengths and your weaknesses. Do you play more attack or defense? Are you in
good form to cover the court and keep playing or are you better off trying to finish the rally? Ex. if
you are fast and good with your footwork, play flat and more attack.

2. Know your opponent. Try to watch him play a game or two and note his weaknesses. Come up
with a specific plan like- if I hit a flat toss on his/her backend, Im sure to get the return here; if Im
ready I can smash.

3. Try to catch your opponent on the wrong foot. Make your opponent make mistakes. Surprise them.
Play smart. Deception at the net is a pretty good strategy and often works.

4. Learn to recover. Change your game plan if its not working. If the game is too fast for you, play
tosses high and in the back alley. This will give you time to recover to come the center of the court.

5. When you smash, either attack on the body (specifically, under the arms) or on the side lines.

6. Play to win, not to defeat. Never display exhaustion, frustration, anger, concede on the court. Keep
your opponent guessing and be confident. A large part of the battle is your self confidence and
sometimes it intimidates even players who are better than you.

7. Never, never, and I repeat, never give up. Fight for every point. Play each point like its the
championship point even if you're losing. You never know when the game changes course.

Doubles:

1. Know your partner. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Learn to anticipate their shots. You
will realise this makes your game faster and easier.

2. Communicate with your partner. If you want them to take the shot, say it! Make your strategies and
discuss with them.

3. Know your opponents, as mentioned above. Doubles is much faster than singles and its easier to
make mistakes as its easier to magnify your strengths. Know each opponents strengths and
weaknesses and incorporate them in your strategies.

4. If you are a conditioned doubles player, you will know about the doubles combination style (come
parallel when you hit high, etc). When you are sure you can anticipate the return fairly well, break the
combination. It will confuse your opponents. Be sure not to confuse your partner though.

5. More than any other strategy, have an attack strategy. Doubles is all about attack.

6. Practice the low service well. High service an return in a smash unless the receiver isnt expecting
it. Some points are won on wrong judgement calls taken by the opponents and accuracy counts.
Accuracy is generally important in doubles. Smashes on the side lines are pretty much always a good
idea.

7. Again, (repeating from above). If the game is going too fast, do a high lift or toss to give yourself
time to recover. Come parallel then though.

For beginners to badminton the main points to focus on are:

 Hitting the shuttle consistently high and deep to give time to recover.
 Try to aim shots to the opponents weaker side (usually backhand), to give the advantage off a
weak return.
 Try to place shots before adding more power, because more power will usually result in more
errors.
 Try to keep the opponent on the move as much as possible and not play me to you badminton.
This is when two players just stand in the center of the court and hit the shuttle back and forth
between them. Try moving the opponent from the net to the back and from the forehand to
backhand side to fatigue them quicker.
 Keep winning, keep playing the same way
 Keep losing change the style of play
 Try to change the speed of play, by mixing up shots. For example hit some slower shots, such
as, drop shots and net shots, with faster shots in between, such as, smashes, and drives.
 Always play to personal strengths and try to exploit the opponents weaknesses.

Master all of these points then start to add disguise to shots or attempt to incorporate more advanced
strokes.
A Brief History of Badminton

A badminton-like game was known in ancient Greece and Egypt - a game called battledore and
shuttlecock - in which two players hit a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets.

The game was played in India during the 18th Century, at which time it was called "Poona" . In the
1860s it was adopted by British Army officers stationed in India. The officers took the game back to
England, where it became a success at a party given by the Duke of Beaufort in 1873 at his estate
called "Badminton" in Gloucestershire.

A variation of Badminton which has been developed only recently, Speed Badminton or
Speedminton, is played without a net, and is gaining popularity, especially in Germany.

Origins and History of Badminton

The origins of the game of badminton date back at least 2,000 years to the game of battledore and
shuttlecock played in ancient Greece, China, and India.

A very long history for one of the Olympics newest sports! Badminton took its name from
Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the ancestral home of the Duke of Beaufort, where the sport
was played in the last century. Gloucestershire is now the base for the International Badminton
Federation.

The IBF was formed in 1934 with nine members: Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, England,
New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United States joined four years later. Membership
increased steadily over the next few years with a surge in new members after the Olympic Games
debut at Barcelona.

The first big IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (men’s world team championships) in 1948. Since
then, the number of world events has increased to seven, with the addition of the Uber Cup (ladies’
team), World Championships, Sudirman Cup (mixed team), World Juniors, World Grand Prix Finals,
and the World Cup.

The World Cup invitational event started in 1981 and is organized by the International Management
Group (IMG). The World Cup series is due to end in 1997, and the IBF is considering organizing
exhibition matches featuring the world’s top players to replace the World Cup.

For the recent Thomas and Uber Cups in Hong Kong, the sale of commercial and television rights
was a multimillion dollar contract. And it’s not just in Asia. In Europe also, there’s a growing number
of companies bidding for rights. Television companies worldwide are already buying exclusive rights
to the 1997 World Championships to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

A turning point in badminton’s growth was the $20 million tripartite contract in 1994 for sponsorship
of the World Grand Prix Finals. Under the terms of the deal between the IBF, IMG, and STAR TV,
STAR injects the monies into the promotion and development of badminton. In return, STAR gains
total exclusivity for the exploitation of the commercial and television rights to the WGP Finals. “The
deal was good for both main parties,” said David Shaw, IBF’s executive director, who was brought
into the organization with a brief to grow the sport. “We needed a strong partner in television, and the
broadcaster had identified badminton as a vehicle which would attract audiences across Asia to its
prime sports channel.”

The next phase in the rise and rise of international badminton has been to retake the USA. The U.S.
was an early member of the IBF and initially one of the most successful. When the Uber Cup was
introduced in 1956, Americans won the first three events. But then interest waned.

Badminton is a well liked and familiar sport in the USA but, predominantly, is usually played as a
fun game in the backyard or on the beach. We know that once Americans see the other badminton—
international badminton, the world’s fastest racket sport—they will want to see and play more. The
Atlanta Olympics started to raise the sport’s profile in the U.S. The event was a sell-out and became
one of the “must-see” sports. Ex-President Jimmy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, Paul Newman, and
Princess Anne were among the celebrities who came to watch. David Broder of the Washington Post
reported “seeing one of the supreme athletic spectacles of my life.”

The year 1996 was a landmark in USA badminton. It’s not only the Atlanta Olympic Games that
started to generate tremendous interest in the U.S. market. In December 1995, the IBF introduced a
new concept tournament in California, the Hong Ta Shan Cup, a men’s invitation tournament with
the best players and big prize money. There are now plans to add a women’s event and to increase the
prize money. The Hong Ta Shan Group has gone on to sponsor the U.S. Open, increasing the prize
money to $200,000. This makes the event the most valuable World Grand Prix event in the series and
gives it six-star status.

The degree of change is increasing. Badminton’s debut as an Olympic Games sport has manifestly
boosted interest internationally. The STAR TV agreement has increased the sport’s coverage
dramatically. Sponsors and television companies are being attracted to a sport which gives them
access to the Asian economies. And spectators are increasingly attracted to the exciting mix of
angles, tactics, touch, reaction, and fitness that would exhaust a squash champion.

Officials of Badminton

Umpire: The ‘main judge’ for the particular badminton game. He/she has the power to overrule any
decisions made by the service judge or line judges. The umpire is the person ensuring that the
badminton game is run smoothly and prevent any players from delaying the game play.

Whenever a player requests to change the shuttle, the umpire will need to approve that the change
could be made.

The umpire also looks out for faults committed around the net area such as whether a player touched
the net when returning the shuttle.
Besides, the umpire is responsible to make a ‘fault’ call when the shuttle touches the player or the
players’ attires except for the badminton racket. In badminton, it will be a fault/foul to a player if the
shuttle touches any part of that player’s body or attire.

Service Judge: The service judge is responsible in making a ‘service fault’ call and to provide shuttles
to the players.

Line Judges: Line judges sit beside the badminton court (right in front of every in/out lines) to
determine whether the shuttle is inside or outside the boundaries of the court.

Their calls are usually very subjective and are often controversial.
Fundamental Skills & Rules in Badminton

by VICKI ZERBEE Last Updated: Jan 28, 2015

Grip

You will want to learn how to hold your racket with the forehand to hit shuttles on that side of your
body and backhand to hit on the opposite side. You will use a forehand grip to hit above your head as
well. You can hit the shuttle using a backhand grip with your elbow up or down. It is good to practice
hitting with these grips to improve your skills.

Footwork

Your footwork can bring more success to your game if you learn the basics of moving on the court
and practice them. Your ready position should include standing in the center of the court if you are
playing singles and bending your knees with your body relaxed and waiting for play. Move your feet
by shuffling them or gliding from left to right and stepping or lunging forward. To move backward,
go fast enough that you get behind the shuttle to hit it hard enough.

Serving

Four types of badminton serves include: 1) the high serve to move your opponent to the back of his or
her side of the court; 2) the low serve to make your opponent have to get under the shuttle; 3) the
flick serve that is used occasionally to confuse your opponent who thinks you are going to hit a low
serve; 4) the drive serve where you hit the shuttle low, fast and to the rear of the receiver's court as a
strategy move that will result in a missed hit.

Scoring

Simple badminton rules include a scoring system where you play until you score 21 points. Three
games constitute a match. A point is scored each time there is a serve and the side that wins the rally
scores the point. You have to win by at least 2 points unless the game reaches 29 and there is still not
a winner. The first side to score 30 points wins. If you win a game you will serve first in the next
game.

Singles

To begin a singles game of badminton you will serve from the right side of the court. After the initial
serve, the position depends on the server's score. If your score is even, you serve from the right and if
it is odd you serve from the left. In addition, if the server wins the rally he will continue to serve, and
if the receiver wins, the next serve goes to the receiver.

Doubles

In doubles play, serving goes back and forth between partners. The serving side is the same as in
singles play in terms of even score serves from right and odd score from left. The serving partner
alternates court sides if she continues to score during a rally and will serve until a rally is lost. When
the serve comes back to the team the partner will serve next.
Additional Rules

The Badminton World Federation rules state that there is a 60-second interval when the winning team
scores the 11th point. In addition, two-minute intervals are taken between games. If a match reaches
three games, there is a change of ends when the winning side scores 11 points.