Rule 13? question

[SystemicAnomaly]

Situation: Player A is playing the shuttle very close to the net. The opponent, player B, holds up his/her racket just above the net (on his/her own side) such that it is nearly impossible for player A not to hit the shuttle into the racket of player B and immediately have it come back into player A's court.

Has player B committed a fault? I've done this a few time myself & have seen quite a few accomplished players also do as well. I've been told that player B cannot block player A's shot in such a manner. Legally, B can time a response to A's shot but cannot have his racket already in place waiting for A to make his shot.

Is this a violation of current rules. An old rule? I cannot seem to figure out which Law of Badminton applies to this situation. Does this constitute a disallowed distraction? Is it covered by Rule 13.4.4 ? Some other rule?

Any officials out there know the answer?

[nauknip]

Hey I've seen this happen at the asiacup!! Pramote held up his racket to block Candra's shot, but he wasn't faulted tho Candra and Sigit argued v hard for it...

[cb]

The rule is that you have to make a swinging motion toward
the net as your opponent is about to contact the shuttle.

Then it's up to the umpire to judge whether you acted
legally or not..... I've seen go both ways.....

[SystemicAnomaly]

thnx for the feedback, cb & nauknip. does any body know which rule in particular applies? is it cuz of vague wording that the action is not judged consistently?

[harry]

i think as long as player B is not making it impossible for player A to hit over the net....so itz okay as long as player B gives player A enough room to hit over.

[cb]

It's vague because the umpire has to see
whether the player moved his racquet toward the net or not.
Sometimes the umpire may not be paying attention...:-)

[SystemicAnomaly]

some coaches claim the block is OK if the racket is completely on your own side. i don't think that this is correct either. feedback?

[cooler]

i side with cb intepretation.
As long as the receiver (B) dont interfere with the player A

[fustrated guy]

those coaches are wrong! you can't block the shuttle near the net by holding your racket STILL but if you block the shuttle with your racket in motion (you can swing at it), is ok, in fact if you hit the shuttle on your own side, you can follow thru your racket to your opponent side. so literally your racket could be over the net and won't cause a fault long as you make contact with the shuttle on your own side first.

[Erik]

It is not as complicated as it seems. Law 13.4.4 says that it is a fault if a player (in this case player B) obstructs his opponent, meaning prevents his oppponent (in this case player A)
from making a legal stroke where the shuttle is followed over the
net (by A with his racket. The only criterium therefore is whether B prevents A from making such a stroke. What happens to
the shuttle, or whether B does or does not move his racket, or
how close B is to the net are all totally irrelavant items.
It is up to the umpire to decide wether B is obdtructing A or not.

Erik