me and my partner are both 16 and we are advanced players, i think. well...i guess it depends what you consider advanced. We won regionals and were in the semi-finals for provincial (ontario). We can jump smash pretty decently, rotate and move around nicely, and even pretty nice drop shots but the problem is the opponents at the provincial level are just faster, and more powerful. Is there some tactic, like tiring one player, or attacking one side a lot then switching?? or something like that?
you could try to build up your defense maybe? getting a lot of shuttles back will tire the opposition attacker, and will tend to lead to errors. drop and smash in between the opposition a lot of the times. vary the pace of rallies. drive, push, slow, fast. sometimes doing this will put off an opponents rhythm. a lot of the faster players tend to hate a slower game, and will try to quicken up the pace, hence leading to more errors. with the rally point scoring system, its actually anyone's game if the levels aren't too far off as on the day, anyone can make more errors. the key is to get back as many shuttles back to create the errors, and turn defense into attack when the opportunity arises. if you have not yet had the chance, watch some of the doubles matches of the japanese and korean doubles pairs. not the top ranks in the world, but awesome defense and fight/will power. most of the time puts up a great fight against higher ranked opponents. hope that helps out your game a bit
a very big factor is psychological. all too often, against "better" players we all just try to be extra defensive and play conservatively and reduce errors. it's probably not going to work too well. if you think about it, they're better in general. which means their play is probably even more consistent than yours. the only way you can beat them is not by hoping they make an error (which you're likely to do before them) but to actively force the pace. be aggressive, look to find opportunities to attack, go for riskier shots. you'll never win sitting on your arse. i don't think tiring them out will work, as you said it yourself, they're stronger and faster. play like you play normally, and never be afraid to try and take initiative. i've seen many games where the lower pair just sit and try to soak up the pressure. it happens when they don't believe they can win. and they never win. if you go out with a game plan and are willing to play hard to win, then you'll always stand a chance. it even shows in the top players. Cai/ Fu, then world no. 1 (or 2 something around there) played a pair from Hong Kong during one of the super series (swiss?), ranked 12-16ish. the Hong Kong pair bet them. and they sure as hell didn't beat them by trying to defend like crazy. sure, they defended well, but they went out willing to attack and not be afraid. that's why they won.
Powerful? Their power would be useless if you place the shuttle right. Don't give them opportunities to use their power against you. In short, be on the offensive and not the defensive side. Be aggressive, but vary the phase. Faster? I'm not sure, but maybe their fast because they can read your shots quite easily. Try to use more deceptive shots. Trust me. When I learned how to do deceptive shots, the top players in our club stopped anticipating where I would direct the shuttle. And most of all, practice practice practice. I'm sure you'll advance further the next time if you practice. Good luck
1) play more tournaments 2) play those better players more - you start to predict what shots they might play 3) listen to the savvy coach who tells you to vary the game. Building up play to create openings is not something you can learn overnight 4) tighten up your own game - learn how and when to play neutral shots, when you can attack, when you need to defend.
Patience is very important when playing "better" opposition; you need to resist the temptation to attack, or go for a winner, too early. As Cheung mentions, "neutral" shots are a great way to stay in the rally - just place the shuttle in the mid-court area so that the opponent(s) have to make contact under the level of the net - no need for power or tightness to the net - to make them do the work. The Chinese pairs, in particular, really don't like this, as they prefer everything screaming back and forth over the net at full power. I remember Paaske/Rasmussen vs. Ikeda/Sakamoto at the All England this year; Jonas kept playing neutral shots at the net and got a lift for Lars almost every time. The Japanese pair were undeniably quicker (and won, in the end) but this tactic worked.
