I play badminton at an intermediate level, and 16 years old. As i am an athlete, i believe i can move around the court pretty fast, and i play a defensive style of play, smashing only to end a rally, and i am not as strong in the arms. When me and my friend is matched up with other players, there's a huge difference between the points i take and he does against the same player. But, as we've been playing against each other for a pretty long time, he wins like 80% of the games we've played, all ending up like 19-21 i.e, pretty close.I've thought about it and asked my coach, he said my friend knows exactly where i am going to return the bird. What should i do? Btw, my friend can overpower me when comes to brute force, but is sluggish when it comes to movement, and gets tired in about 3 continuous matches. My coach suggested deceptive and trick shots, but it takes some time to practice them, as i am only familiar with the standard and safe shots. So, Should i increase my movement speed even faster? (So i would have time to look at him and return) Or should i change my style of play? Or should i just wait it out, learn deceptive shots and give it a try?
I had the exact same problem with my training partner, and I decided to become a bit more aggressive and try to smash more and start building up power and endurance in my arms. I mean obviously it is going to take some time getting used to smashing more often, I had a period when my partner would return the smashes as if they were nothing and I would lose 10-21 or worse sometimes. But now after a couple of weeks, I have definetely improved I can consistently win our matches 80-90% of the times. And remember after playing a rally style for most of your life, you can switch back to it whenever you want and then try to find balance between rallies and aggressive play.
you don't necessarily need to change style of play or learn deceptive shots. You just need to vary your shot choice so it can't be read every time.
Sometimes when i'm in the same position as you when I play singles, I tend to play/attempt a lot more flicks, as well as holding a little before hitting (simple idea but can be really effective) and try and control the tempo. But i'm a doubles player so just take it as a little suggestion!
Its important not to become predictable. We always tend to play the same shots at certain times. We need to vary this and never play to same place 3 times in a row. Maybe twice in a row sometimes but never a third time. I had a good coach who said on service return, never play the return to the same spot twice!
There is a good player I play against and with certain shots of his he 8/10 plays the same return. On backhand be straight drop so im ready for it. With overhead shot, he plays cross court smash if he gets in good position but because I know this, i'm ready for it to drop it back over or straight drive to rear forehand court where he is really stuck. U need to vary your return unless it is working. You could probably do the same thing to him that he is doing to you. Just need to think about it. Hit every corner in 1st 6/7 points and see what return you get from each corner. See how he wins his points, with what shot and where from. You are probably getting caught a lot from a of couple shots.
i believe what you need to change is your strategy. having more power is a plus, but it sounds like you can outrun your opponent even without the power. having deception shots available is a plus but only when you are in good position, meaning you're there for the shuttle way ahead of time. because you two play together so often, it is quite common that you get use to each others' games and the rally will begin to get longer. what you need to do, in my opinion, is to change your shot option. this allow you to hit a shot that is not expected. prior to this tho, you must be in good position, and also must be aware of where your opponent is situated at the time you strike the shuttle. a good way is to either remember the shots you've taken in the course of a game or two, then rethink it, i find this a bit harder but since i don't have time to review videos, this is what i do. the second, easier option, is the videotape yourself. if in one session you play 5-6 games, videotape all of them. then review the shots and see if you have any repeating shots that gave away your advantage. i find videotaping is a must if you rely on yourself a lot for improvements. an extra option that you have that some of us don't have, is the coach factor. you can get your coach to watch you play the 5-6 games back to back and see if he/she sees anything that you need to improve on.... hope this helps
Your coach said that your opponent knows where you will play the shuttle. How do you think your coach knows this? Try paying attention to where your opponent is positioning himself immediately before your shot. You need to know whether he's anticipating you. His position and stance on court tell you a lot about what shots he's covering (or how much he's covering them).
Try playing someone else for a while and work on your whole game. It may mean going along to another club or finding a different training partner but if you want to get better then this is what you have to do. By playing the same person over and over again you're not improving your game. Once you feel confident in your game, play your old training partner again and see how you get on. Another tip is play a shot you don't normally do, use the whole court and set the point up. It sounds as if he is out-thinking you.
The only real way to overcome this is to be able to play at least two shots from any position. Until then, deception, deception, deception - hold a shot and make the other guy commit his feet.
Increase the pace of your game and make your return sharp so he has to keep up with u that will wear him out more and will not allow him time to see where he can return well.
