when the racquet shaft bend during smashing...

[Gold-]

when the racquet shaft bend during smashing does it increase the speed or decrease the speed. is it more difficult to smash when it is bend?

[jhirata]

Who'd ever play with a racquet which has a bent shaft ?

All shafts bend when you swing it, and it snaps back to its original, straight position once you strike the shuttle. If the shaft doesn't bend/flex, then you'd get no power; it'd be like hitting a brick.

Generally, stiffer shafts produce more power if you can swing the racquet fast enough to flex the shaft.

Difficulty to smash, has nothing to do with the shaft bending, it is natural.

[Heong]

Racquet shafts don't bend themselves.. you need to flex it yourself when you swing.