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Neutral Situations In Badminton
Neutral situations in badminton are where neither party has the advantage of the attack. Both are fighting for the lift. The battle for the lift tends to occur in the midcourt and forecourt. This does not last particularly long as eventually, one partnership will concede the attack.
These situations will not mean that players will exclusively be playing shots from the midcourt or frontcourt. Rather, they will be moving from midcourt to the frontcourt and visa versa in order to try and control the rally and force the lift.
These neutral situations in badminton can occur more than once within a rally as the attacking pair fight to keep the attack and the defensive pair try to win it.
Formations When Fighting For The Attack
The formation adopted by each pair will be dependent on the shots they’re playing so as not to give the lift away.
In fast flat exchanges, both pairs tend to adopt the defensive formation (side by side). This minimises open areas of the court. As one pair begins to realise they are putting pressure on their opponents, they will begin to move into the attacking formation, sensing the lift is imminent.
In other situations, both pairs could be in an attacking formation, with the rear court player stepping forward to play drops to the net and pushes to the midcourt. The opposing rear court player is also doing the same. In mixed doubles, this is a common situation. The reason both pairs can be in the attacking position in this situation is that neither side is applying significant pressure on the other. Therefore they can both keep this formation in order to be ready for when one of the pairs eventually wins the attack.
Another example is net exchanges. When the two frontcourt players are playing net shots between one another, they are fighting for the lift for their partner who is in the mid or rear court ready to attack.
At high levels of play, you very rarely get net exchanges between frontcourt players. This is because a net kill is the normal response to a net shot returned off another net shot. Yet, at the club level, you might find net shots being exchanged. This is from fear of attempting to kill the shuttle. They may make an error or hit the net with their attempted kill.
Breaking The Deadlock
To break the deadlock, one pair loses the point or lifts the shuttle. Of course, we would rather not lose the point so in some situations it is necessary to lift the shuttle. In doing so you need to regain your attack through counter-attacking defence. However, you should always endeavour to be the one who gains the lift.
This is not an easy task. Your opponents are also trying to achieve the same as you. Therefore it’s important to recognise just because you are playing the right shots it doesn’t mean you will be successful if your opponents are equal to it.
- Change of Pace – When playing a fast rally to win the attack a change of pace to a slower shot may catch the opponents off guard. Or, at least draw them in so they have to take the shuttle below the net. In the same way in a slower rally, a sudden injection of pace into an open area of the court might send the opponent scrambling for the shuttle.
- Anticipation Of The Opponent Shot – If the opponent becomes predictable in their attempts to win the lift, you might be able to anticipate their shot and move to a position where you meet the shuttle early. This would be easier with the slower shots than in fast rallies as you have more time to make interceptions.
Neutral situations occur naturally in certain parts of the game. The most common part is the serve and return of serve. At this point, neither pairing is on the attack, although the server has the advantage of obtaining the lift.
Neutral Situations In Badminton – Conclusion
Neutral situations are very important because the fight for the attack will determine who has the advantage in the rally. This is also why the service situation is so important. It is always a neutral situation until the lift is given away. If you win the battle, you should always strive to maintain the attack. This is easier said than done! Some further interesting insights into neutral shots can be found here.
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