Not successfully. I did a dive for a shuttle one time playing singles with my friend. I actually manage to get it but it popped up way too high (1/2 foot above the net) that my friend just calmly returned it as I was lying on the floor.
Wow. It's not the dive that is amazing, but the recovery and in most cases win. At that level of opponent it's jaw droppin. Most of the time someone dives at my club I'm laughing so hard I barely return the weak shot. They still can't get off their butt in time to win the point tho.
I pull it off everytime (<no sarcasm there) When I first started trying to dive for the shuttle, I would struggle to either get it back, or get back effectively, it would mostly pop up for it to be killed by my opponent. However I suppose practice makes perfect nowadays, I will dive 2+ times in a game and still be able to continue the rally as normal. I have even dived 2-3 times in a rally once and still won the rally!! (all singles play) Recovery is key I guess, nowadays I don't feel comfortable when I play in halls and the floor is too dangerous to dive on, it really annoys me cause I will throw myself at the shuttle if the floor is forgiving and in some halls it's just not possible and I think loses me points cause I'm not confident
This is actually the most impressive part of the dives. People can do dives, only pros can dive with such grace that they can dive for a shot in the forecourt and then recover fast enough to hit a smash in the rear court in the next shot (LCW and Lin Dan are so amazingly good at this). I had my share of ungraceful dives that kept us in the point maybe 2-3 strokes longer before losing 90% of them. The other 10% of won points is from the sheer disbelief of my opponents at how ugly my dive looked and how high i popped the shuttle up that they missed it.
Diving is fun but u must be careful n know how to land so as not to injure yourself. Yesterday I did a great dive to retrieve a sharp but not too hard smash on my backhand, playing doubles. The shuttle barely got over the top of the net (low net return) and my opponent (waiting on the net) screwed up his return. It felt GREATTT to earn that point.
Check out this match at the 2012 England. Some cool dives from both of them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=aCc6l1BDQuo
I've done dives towards the net to get some drops in doubles at tournaments but never while defending a smashing.
I use to dive a lot. Side ways, backward, forward. I can recover pretty well too ^_^ Though I've improved my footwork thanks to a good coach, so I dive less and less now. Yes, I still dive from time to time, but the secret to fast recovery after a dive is to be very fit and have the right technique for diving. (Don't go check first, cuz it'll hurt, and always use your palms to cushion your landing, so you can push yourself back up fast.) Then gain, good balance + footwork is always better than diving.
My 53 year old friend who is super fit and a great player dives on a regular basis in matches and he gets most of them back and is able to recover so shows u what u can do if you practice it
I've never done or attempted to dive. Because I'm usually quick enough to return most of the birds. I've noticed that my body is slowing down. My recovery time between injuries and workouts are longer. It's sad to say but I feel old I'm only 24 for those who are curious. Haha I don't wanna risk injury for one point in recreational play. But then again, I never really had to...
Not sure why anyone wants to imitate the pros. Mostly importantly, as some already pointed out, it's injury prone, including thumb fracture, when it's trapped on landing between the floor and the racket.
It is not imitating, it's just late reaction/reflexes + most important point, the fighting spirit, not to let the shuttle touch our floor.