Matches are always played in feather. Every one knows plastics used for cost saving as it is more durable. But players in my club arguing it is good to practice in plastic for playing feather tournaments. They say if you can play in plastic then feather will be more easy as it is more controllable. Is that true?
In almost every area, there is no advantage to preparing for a feather tournament with plastic. The only advantage with plastic is that the shuttle flies much quicker than shuttle, so you will be able to improve your reflexes especially in smash defense as you get used to the speed of the plastic. So when you switch back to feathers, you will have already trained with smashes at a higher speed and can handle hard smashers with feathers. It's not a guarantee you will be able to, but definitely a good training technique with plastics.
But defending fast smashes is not (always) the point. Defending a variation of them, including slices and cut smashes, different speeds and trajectories is more important. And those are way different for feathers - therefore i would recommend feathers in training if possible. Think about your possibilities to return, too. You can slice, counterattack, drive, block etc. to defend the attack. To have the feeling for these shots is important and you should get it by training match-near situations eg. training with feathers. However training with plastic shuttles is still better than no training at all.
Agree. Would help to play with feathers every now and then in practice to remember how they feel. Otherwise you'll be out of touch and at a disadvantage.
There is no advantage, in fact you are at a disadvantage. The flight is different, the speed is different, the feel is different. If you want to practice smash returns tip the shuttles end feathers in and it will fly faster. I have a question for you. Would pros use plastics to practice with? Why / why not?