Featured Image: Peter
In badminton singles, smash defence is very important to be able to stop your opponent from winning the point. But like everything else, it’s easier said than done!
There are several important aspects to defending a smash, some of which you might not have even considered and happen before you even play the shot itself.
Smash Defence In Singles
Ok, so you’ve lifted or cleared the shuttle to the rear court. Of course, there’s no way of knowing the opponent will play a smash in a real game, but we will assume this is known. So let’s go through some of the steps below.
Before The Opponent Smashes
Before the opponent smashes you need to be ready to return it. So here are the important points to remember.
1. Court Positioning
Like all shots in badminton, you need to be in the right base position to defend a smash in singles. Typically this is the centre of the court. As a general rule, this is the case. Being in this position allows you to cover most areas of the court that the shuttle could potentially be played into.
However, the base position largely depends on where you’ve played your clear/lift from and where you expect the opponent will play the smash. If you played the shuttle high to either of the rear corners, then you want to bias your position a little to the same side in order to cover the straight smash more effectively. This is a slight adjustment in the base position either to the left or right of the centre line.
The reason is that straight smashes are faster than cross-court smashes, therefore shortening the distance between you and the shuttle path allows you to get to it quicker. If the opponent plays a cross-court you have the additional time to adjust and cover that shot as well.
This means while your positioning is broadly the centre, you can bias your position left or right of the centre line in order to better cover anticipated smashes, including body smashes.
2. Body Positioning
This is an important element that is often overlooked. The base position is where you stand on court, body positioning is what you do with your body with you get to the base position.
As a principal, you need to lower your centre of gravity. This is done by spreading the legs wider and bending the knees slightly. The result of this is to provide a solid foundation off which your imminent movement is based.
You also want to ensure you’re square to the net with your racket in front of you and not biased to either the forehand or backhand side. Any adjustment of your racket in such a way makes it difficult when the smash is played to the opposite side you expected and this delays your shot.
Lastly you want a relaxed grip which allows you to manourve the racket more easily but also gives you better control of your shot when you do play it.
After The Opponent Smashes
1. Split Step
Every time you need to move in any direction on court, you need to perform the split step. This is the same for defending a smash. This will give you the initial momentum that you need to be able to move to reach the shuttle.
Without it, it becomes very hard to reach the tramlines in good time to return the shuttle. This is a fundamental element of footwork that every player should be proficient in.
The best time to perform the split step is just when you’re opponent is about to hit the shuttle. This allows you to move as the shuttle is travelling. A split second too late will make you late to a shot as fast as a smash. Too early and you lose the momentum of the split step.
2. Determine Your Shot Choice
This is the actual shot you play. The most common defensive shot is the block to the net but there’s also the option of the lift and drive. Let’s explore these a little further.
A. Block: a block to the net is usually the default option in badminton singles. A good block helps to neutralise the opponent’s ability to attack. Unlike doubles, you don’t have the pressure of somebody else at the net! Therefore the opponent has to cover the distance from the rear court to the frontcourt. This provides enough time to play the block and recover. The better the quality of your block., the more pressure there is on the opponent.
The best use of the block is to block straight both when the smash is played straight and cross-court. Playing a block straight is easier to control and travels the shortest distance. When the smash is cross-court, the straight block forces the opponent to travel the longest diagonal putting much more movement pressure on them. The cross-court block can be used better when there is less pace on the shuttle as Lin Dan shows above.
The disadvantage of the block is that it is predictable. The attacker will often look to move forward as quickly as possible to the net in anticipation of this shot. If the block is not accurate, or too loose, the attacker can follow their smash with a tight net shot or even kill off the rally at the net.
B. Lift: This is fairly rare in singles but can be an effective defensive shot. It’s best used if you’re seeking to pin the opponent on the back court or as a variation to your defensive play. As mentioned above, the block is normally the default and stronger opponents will look to move forward as fast as possible to maintain the pressure and pace the rally. Therefore the lift can catch them off guard, forcing them to stop their momentum coming forward and creating delay and instability in their movement. I would suggest using this sparsely to gain effective use from it.
C. Drive: This is hardly seen at higher levels of play because the smash is often very fast and very steep, making the timing and accuracy of this shot very difficult. It’s often used when the smash is played less steep as this provides the right height to drive the shuttle back over the net. When used it should be played away from where the opponent smashed as the drive is very fast it’s difficult for the opponent to change their direction of movement in time to play a good return to the drive.
3. Recover
Most importantly, recover after your return of smash! There’s no point getting back the smash if you can’t get the next shot. Recovering means determining the correct base position to be in after your return. Remember the base doesn’t always mean recovering to the centre, your base position will alter depending on the shot you’ve played.
Dives
I know you all want to know about this. There is an obvious benefit to diving. It allows you to reach smashes you otherwise would not have reached. However, on the flip side, your shot may become less accurate because you’re playing from an unstable situation. When you don’t dive your feet are planted when returning the smash, creating stability and allowing a more accurate shot. When you’re flying through the air horizontally and trying to play a shot it becomes more difficult.
Image: Legado OficialPE
It also means you have to get up from the dive in time to retrieve the next shot, which can be difficult depending on your fitness levels and even weight. There’s also a potential risk of injury from landing in an awkward position.
That’s not to say it can’t be done! You only have to watch the likes of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei to see how effective it can be. But you should play the majority of your defensive shots on your feet. This allows for faster recovery time in addition to better shot quality. Only in circumstances where you know you’re going to be late to the shuttle and therefore can’t reach it should you dive.
Training Smash Defence In Singles
It’s important to remember that you can’t defend everything! Sometimes the smash will simply be too accurate or too fast for you to return it and that’s ok. This will not be the case every time. I will provide a more detailed training method for training smash defence at a later date.
At its core, like everything, the more you train at defending the smash in singles, the more you will be able to return and minimise winning shots from your opponent. Creating muscle memory of reacting to a smash through training will help you react faster to these situations in a real match.
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