Become a better badminton player fast!
Though badminton is the world’s fastest racquet sport, a badminton game can be played both as a recreational activity and as an intense sport.
After playing badminton for a long time, I couldn’t help but wonder why I wasn’t getting better at the game.
Then I realised it was because I was harbouring bad habits that stopped me from becoming a better badminton player.
Let me share with you the 12 tips that I think would definitely make you a better badminton player.
1. Work on both your backhand and forehand
Hit the shuttle high towards the ceiling using just the forehand grip at first, then just the backhand grip. Once you are comfortable, use both sides of the racquet at the same time. Then, increase your juggling speed. Finally, to make it more challenging, do it while walking.
2. Juggle the Shuttle
Hit the shuttle high towards the ceiling using both the forehand and backhand grips one at a time. Once you are comfortable, use both sides of the racquet at the same time. Then reduce the height that you hit the shuttle. To make it more challenging, do it while walking.
3. Practice Your Lunges
Lunges help you reach to the shuttle quickly and prevent injuries. Practice lunging on all sides of the court. Start with small strides and as you get better, increase the span of your strides. With practice, you will become better and faster.
4. Play Against The Wall
Hitting against the wall improves your ball sense, defence, and hand-eye coordination. Start slow and then with more practice; hit harder and flatter. Time yourself as to how many shots you can hit in say, a minute.
5. Learn to Generate Power
As a beginner, your shots are not so powerful. Regular play and practice will generate power. You can do that by controlling your shots and coordinating. The power is to be generated from the legs, the torso and arms are simply conduits of this generated power.
6. Make your Opponent Move Back and Forth
Use techniques such as the lift, lob, drop shot and smash to manoeuvre the opponent into moving back and forth. It will take your badminton game to a different level.
Just as forcing the opponent to move back and forth, play shots to the extreme left and right sides of the court so that your opponent has to move from one side to another. Lay emphasis on making opponents move all around the court and , and you will become a challenging badminton player to play with.
7. Attack the Opponent’s Backhand
The backhand of most badminton players is usually weak. So attack at the backhand corners at the back of the court.
8. Improve your Footwork
Do the six-corner footwork and the front-back footwork. The right footwork technique will increase your speed, allow you to retrieve low shuttles and recover from difficult positions. It will take care of safety, speed, and efficiency too. You need to practice your footwork a lot; especially for the overhead shot. Check out my three-part video on mastering footwork. You will be flying all over the court once you master the footwork.
9. Aim for a Perfect Serve
A good service is important as it sets you for the next shot. You have the backhand service, forehand service, and service in singles and doubles games. Check out this post to learn to master the backhand serve for a start!
During my time in the national team, we used to blindfold ourselves or cover the net and aim to serve correctly. Do not rush to serve. Focus on your swing and the shuttle. Once you have mastered that, shift your focus to the opponent. See where he is standing and try to catch the opponent unawares by varying between short serves, long serves and flick serves.
10. Jump and Hit
Once you know techniques such as smash and drop shot, incorporate the jump in your shots. Start with small jumps and then graduate to full jumps. Jumps will give you more speed and power.
11. Spin net Your Way To Win Points
You can spin the shuttle forward, backward, left and right. Practice on your own or with a friend. Ensure that you receive the shuttle when it is high during the game to spin the shuttle effectively.
12. Master Your Backhand
The backhand corner shot is generally a weaker shot for most players. Ask a friend to feed shuttles to you in the backhand corner and practice. Improve your consistency and control so as to hit hot shots and soft shots with your backhand
Focus on these tips to improve your badminton game and then gradually work on perfecting form and technique.
Finally, I would like to share with you a video on useful tips to get more power out of your backhand. Click here!
That’s all I have for you today! Stay tuned for more guides to help you become a better badminton player!