Defensive Shots In Badminton Doubles – Learn To Love Defending

Featured Image: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin

Defensive Shots

Defensive shots in badminton doubles are used when the opponent is on the attack. These shots can vary a lot depending on the situation and how well the opponent is able to pressurise you. Let’s look at the typical defensive shots you’ll find on the court! These shots can also be used to create counter-attacking opportunities.

Lift

The lift is the most common defensive shot in badminton doubles at high levels of play. It involves lifting the shuttle back to the rear court in response to your opponent’s smash. The lift is best used when:

• Trying to keep the opponents out of their favoured formation by keeping the weaker rear court player in the rear court.
• The smash is too fast or steep to play another defensive shot with good quality
• Under significant pressure, you need to lift the shuttle to buy time to regain your composure.
• The opponent has played a drop and you are late to retrieve the shuttle.
• Playing patiently in defence to wait for a better chance to counter-attack.

Most of the time a lift straight is the initial response because it’s an easier shot. A good lift should be to the back tram lines to reduce the potency of the attack. It is also useful if you want to keep the attack on yourself rather than your partner.

Cross-Court Lift

• Moves your opponent’s attack to your partner. Perhaps they are more creative with their defence and will create better counter-attacking opportunities.
• Create a less stable attacking position for your opponent. When you lift straight, most of the time your opponent is already in a position to continue the attack. However, when played cross court, the opponent has to move across court to continue the attack. Unless they are very quick, this destabilizes their position as their momentum is now coming sideways rather than the force of the smash coming forward.

Block

This shot turns the pace of the opponent’s smash into a soft shot to the net but it can be risky. Remember the opponents are in the attacking position, which means they will have a player in the front of court, whose role is ready to receive any net replies. The block is slower compared to other defensive shots in badminton. This gives the frontcourt opponent a little more time to move towards the shuttle.

You have to ensure two things before you attempt the block:

• The opponent in the opposing frontcourt has left enough space between them and the net for you to play an effective block. If they are standing at the net, ready for your shot, they will simply kill the shuttle.
• You can play the block with sufficient accuracy so that the shuttle falls below net height as soon as it crosses the net. If not, this gives the opponent the opportunity to kill it.

Straight blocks are safer than cross courts. A cross-court block is difficult to play accurately and with control. It’s more effective to limit the amount of time the shuttle is travelling to the opponent.

Push

You should not play this shot down the centre or cross-court for two main reasons:

• This would be the optimum position for the frontcourt player to intercept the shuttle. As the push doesn’t fall below the net as fast as a block.
• The aim of the push is not to challenge the frontcourt player. It’s to play between the front and rear court player. Although it has a little more pace is still easily intercepted if anticipated well. If played to the middle, there is no pressure on the frontcourt player to move to make the kill.

Straight down the tramlines, therefore, is the best area to play a push. A push is a very effective mixed doubles shot.

Drive

A drive is a fast defensive shot. Similar to its attacking counterpart, the drive travels flat over the net and requires more finger power to play than a push or block.  If not intercepted, it would land in the rear court.

A drive is best played when:

• The opponent’s smash is flatter. If too steep a drive return would simply go into the net.
• The attacking shot from the opponent has a decent amount of pace
• You can anticipate the placement of the smash.

You might not attempt the drive defence on the first one or two smashes. But if you notice a rhythm of the opponent’s attack or as you become more comfortable with it, you will start to see opportunities to drive the shuttle back to the opponent.

Driving Cross Court

Cross Court drives are one of the most difficult defensive shots in badminton to pull off, but if done right, almost always gives you the advantage in the rally (unless you happen to be playing against Sukamuljo)!

What makes it so effective is the following:

• Frontcourt players often expect the defensive response to be straight because of the difficulty of turning the shuttle cross-court in general. Therefore they might bias their position a little closer to the side that their partner is smashing from. This opens the opposite side of the court.

• When the attack is coming from one side of court. Driving the shuttle into the opposite side of the court can often be a winner. The shuttle will land in the mid-court, behind the front court player – who cannot intercept it and across from the rear court player who is potentially still recovering from the smash they previously played.

The difficulty in the cross-court drive is being able to turn the direction of the shuttle. Because the smash is often so fast and steep, it’s difficult to play the action required in order to drive the shuttle cross-court. However, once you’ve mastered it, it’s a valuable asset to have in your defensive armoury!

Defensive Shots In Badminton – A Summary

Each of the above defensive shots will be played at certain times within a rally. The lift is the most common response to the smash as a good lift will help to reduce the potency of the opponent’s attack which in turn sets up opportunities to play some of the other defensive shots.

Of course, the best way to practice is to have somebody with a decent smash constantly smash at you. This is a great way to practice the defensive lift – try to see who breaks down first, your defence or their attack. Short lifts will be punished. You can also have drills that incorporate the other shots as well. The more you practice, the better your defence will become!

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