Badminton Doubles – Defence In Badminton – Other Tips

Featured Image: Murray Foubister

In previous articles, we’ve looked at defence in badminton in terms of defensive positions and counter-attacks. Now there are a few other aspects of defence we can consider. 

Using Opponents Speed

In many martial arts, you can use the speed of your opponent against them. The same can be said of defence in badminton. Injecting speed into a defensive shot is not difficult as the shuttle is already travelling at such a pace. You simply redirect that energy. Slower attacking shots are harder to put pace into because the energy does not already exist in the shuttle.

A classic example is a defensive drive. A fast-paced smash from the opponent can be turned against them with a return that is just as fast. This is why placement of the smash is more important than power. If you can read the opponent’s smash consistently, you will have no problem counterattacking them with faster defensive shots.

Defence in Badminton: Grip

In a defensive position, you should grip the racket handle further up the handle towards the shaft. This allows for quicker response than if you were to hold the handle further down. This is the same principle as when attacking at the net. This higher grip also allows more control over the shuttle when playing your shot.

Finger Power In Defence

As always your grip should not be too tight. In defence, if your grip is too tight you will not be able to apply power to lifts and drives, or control pushes and blocks. Finger strength and control is extremely important in defence. 

A block shot, requires a softer grip initially to absorb the power of the smash but not so loose that you lose control of the shot. You use your arm to act as a stabiliser in order to guide the block over the net. If your grip is too tight, it will be more difficult to guide the shot in this way.

A drive requires a relaxed grip for a different reason. We are not trying to lose the power in the smash in this instance. We want to use that power and turn it against the opponent. You might think that, because the block requires a softer grip, the drive requires a “tighter” grip. This is incorrect. We want a relaxed grip initially so that we can snap the fingers in order to strike the shuttle. If we aren’t able to do this, the drive shot becomes very weak and unpredictable. The relaxed grip allows us to take advantage of the power of the opponent’s shot.

Timing In Defence

The key to using their speed in such a way is timing. You need to be able to hit the shuttle accurately to produce a good quality defensive shot. Just like the attack, you want to be hitting the sweet spot of the racket. The problem many new players face is their timing in defence, often framing the shot as they are not used to the speed of the shuttle. It is important to analyse the pace and placement of the opponent’s smash before playing a counter-attacking shot. All this will be calculated in your head in a split second, just before the opponent strikes the shuttle, as the opponent strikes the shuttle and as the shuttle reaches you.

Errors In Defense

• Playing Weak Lifts – a lift is the foundation of your defensive shot options. If you cannot play a consistent lift to the back tram lines, the opponents will punish you every time. If you can lift the shuttle to the back of the court you have much more options available to you to prepare for a counter-attack by limiting the potency of their attack.

• Not defending in the correct body position – remember from part a, you need to have a stable base to play defensive shots. This means lowering your centre of gravity by having your legs bent and body position low to receive the attack. If you’re not doing this and standing upright, for example, it becomes much harder to play effective defensive shots.
• Incorrect racket position – again this was mentioned in part a. If you do not have your racket ready to receive all possible directions of the smash you are more likely to have difficulty returning the shuttle.
• Only lifting – as mentioned above, it’s important to have a solid lift in your defence repertoire. However, you need to be able to play all the other shots mentioned in part B. If you can only lift you’ve severely limited yourself in your counter-attacking options.
• Too many cross courts – Cross-court defending is fine, but remember most cross-court shots have to be played through the opposing frontcourt player (with the exception of the lift). Therefore these should be played when there is an opportunity to do so. Not on every shot as the more often you play them, the more likely the opponent will intercept them. 
• No control over your defensive shot – When you can’t control your shot you are more likely to make mistakes. This could be a combination of experience, lack of knowledge or your grip. When you have no control you make it easier for your opponent to intercept the shuttle.

• Not following your shot – Let’s assume you have played a nice defensive block the net. The shuttle falls below the net height so the opponent can only play a lift or back to the net. If you don’t follow your defensive shot the option is easy for the opposing frontcourt player. They will simply play back to the net as there is no threat. When you follow your defensive shot in, you have effectively regained the attack and are able to follow up any return played by the opponent.  
• Being scared of the shuttle – This is common among those who are newer to the sport or inexperienced against stronger smashes. Your eye is quicker than the shuttle. Your ability to read smashes will come with experience.

Weak Areas Of Defence In Badminton

When defending there are certain areas of the body which if the shuttle is played to, makes it difficult to return.

• Body Smash. Although you are able to get the racket to the shuttle in this position, it can be fairly awkward to play a defensive shot off your body.

• Racket Side Hip. Shots played to the racket side hip are very awkward. It is difficult to position the racket in such a way on the backhand or forehand side to adequately cover this area and play a good return

• Across The Body. Smashes across the body can also be difficult to deal with. They force you to twist your body to reach the shuttle. Often if played anywhere between your hip (as above) and your shoulder, it’s awkward to return.

• Head Shots. Smashes that come at head height can be difficult to judge. Occasionally you will leave the shuttle only to watch it his the backline. For a player of average height, most smashes at head height tend to go long of the backline. Of course, this is not always the case so a judgement call is required. 

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