Yes, I have finished training few years go when I was around 16 years old Now I just play recreational, but will probably register for the national tournament when I have the time off school. For the past months or so, I have been practicing the "Slice - Net Drop Smash Counter" maneuver when I was playing recreationally.... This technique is kind of hard for me since I was practicing with a head heavy racket (Voltric 60) countering smashes (the smashes are not the fastest in the world, but I suppose it is alright, not as fast as my smashes though).. Technique is simple, instead of counter dropping the smashes head on, maneuver the racket handle and tilt the racket head in a certain angle you want the return to end up and drop it in front of the net on the opponent side. BECAUSE you are slicing a faster shot, the sweet spot would be smaller than a straight on hit counter... I tried this maneuver in a doubles game and tricked my opponents many times (some of them was like WTF??!!?) The KEY PART is not to counter drop the bird straight on to the direction you want to drop the smash since the opponents can see your racket facing direction. LOL I prefer EXTREME angled smash counter drops, but it is not easy since the shots are fast and you do not want to slice it too much angle to make it an out lol... Anyways just sharing what I have working on for smashing counters when I play with recreational players (some n00bs and advanced players) Let me know if you have also tried this maneuver. Also let me know some of the other deceptive smash counter techniques you have found out after playing..
Lol I am still working on it... My succession rate for pulling this is still so so.... The hardest part is for me is try not let the fast smashed bird hitting my frame When it does hit my frame, I lose control and repulsion ... therefore failed
is this stroke like using a backhand grip to counter the smash? like a flat defense to a smash? the movement of the racket/hand is more on horizontal(or perhanp diagonal) rather than vertical (for a high defense)?
sounds great that you learned the technique now go n MASTER IT lol Timing is definitely important Also using your eyes to fool opponent and using this technique would be even more effective. I use this technique mostly in singles because it is definitely the most effective technique for smash counters. Doubles is good too, but requires better timing and lesser opportunities.
I'm not quite sure I'm understanding the explanation of the shot. The only kind of slice I do when returning smashes using flat defense is I hold my racket in the backhand thumb grip so that the racket is held horizontally, then brush upwards upon the shuttle so that the shuttles comes back very low on the net though normally it's not really drop rather than a low, flat, and fast smash return. I would compare it almost to doing a one-handed backhand in tennis except the shot has to be quick obviously since it's a smash return. edit: I can only really do this shot when the shuttle comes to me about chest or shoulder height. So it's a return really meant for flat smashes.
what you have explained here is what actually i was thinking about this shot. on some vids with mixed doubles of china team, i saw this guy who defense a smash using the backhand grip and the smash was in his forehand area but defended the smash with a backhand grip and the shuttle went XC and they got the point. I am always practicing this move whenever there is a chance.
Ah, yeah the shot you're describing requires an immense amount of forehand strength to be able to generate the pace cross court, not to mention when it's on your forehand side. Fu Haifeng is actually really good at this shot, I've seen him do it multiple times. He may not be as strong as Cai Yun on the defense but when he defends, he definitely can be very aggressive on his backhand when given the opportunity. And he does it with a good amount of deception as well. I'm pretty aggressive on my backhand smash defense but I'm not currently able to hit the crosscourt shot left (I'm a right handed player), though I've seen the shot enough to know the mechanics of it. It'll be something to practice on in the future.
it looks like what we are describing is similar to what the OP is describing also, anyway if it is different then i am very much interested in seeing this in a video sample.
My coach does this. VERY disorienting when swings up and to the right with his backhand but the shuttle is flying left! That said I usually counter it by putting a smash on this backhand stretch side or right at his neck area. Not much to do from those angles. Also if you are aware of this shot you can still cover it and if you return it they will be in trouble because the return comes pretty fast.
as they say online.. vids or it didn't happen haha I'm just curious as to how it looks when executed properly
The Taiwan md pair Fang and Lee does this counter attack cross court backhand defence shot several times per match! Especially against players with weaker smashes. It's hilarious watching their opponents just standing there after their attack with their mouths ajar.
It looks really wicked.Picture someone doing a backhand upward slice (semi blocking) style so you think it's going straight or to the right. Defender is standing square to the smasher and doe not tilt shoulder or head or hips. Then the shuttle shoots low drive to the left! Sometimes he embellishes to a little bu pretending to stagger back so it looks like its going to be a weak straight drop but it's really a fast drop to the left service line corner. I once caught it by accident because I didn't move fast enough to cover a smash and the next thing you know the shuttle is on my face! I was standing a little cross court to it and did move basically.
No, he turns his shoulders into the shot. My coach swings thu the shot and th racquet head actually ends up above his head. He doesn't stutter the swing, which makes it very hard to spot. I have seen him actually face slightly to his right and take a step in that direction but shuttle still drives left.
Even now, I can't execute this properly and would mishit a lot especially when the smashes are very fast.. I would love to see someone do a vid if someone has already perfected slicing smash counters...
[video=youtube;5KO9j9C_FlY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KO9j9C_FlY&feature=g-upl&context=G26a14f4AUAAAAAAAAAA[/video] This is the one I'm talking about towards the end.
