There are some good players. They have been playing badminton for 10 to 20 years. Most of them are old over 50+. So, their strength is not very good but their control is very good. Often I have to face them with a beginner to intermediate level player. Usuall, the old advanced level player (let's call them Oldhands ^^) take mixed formation with a beginner level player. And I take double formation. Sometimes, rotation problems happen. That irritates me but not much. If a front player is not so good then I try to netplay but If they are good then We have to deal with these Oldhands. Oldhans' smash return is very good and drop is also very good. When I smash with a good chance I have 50% of success rate. But most of them they return it to far corner of the either side where it is not easy to smash. Even if I smash it Shuttle will loose angle and speed in the end. I think I will put some efforts to practice smash and drop to sideline. Is there a better way to deal with these Oldhands? any comments?
You will find that most older folks starts to lag in movements. Smashing just sends the shuttle to them. They are very accustomed to being smashed at so that will not give them too much trouble as you have observed. Slow drops will just set them up for tighter drop returns so that's another shot that you will want to limit. Move them around with more attacking clears and fast drops. I found fast drops to the middle to be quite effective especially when they are in defensive position. The mix of fast drops/attacking clear should move them around enough to give you the kill. Another common tactic is to attack one person by moving him around more. That'll depend on your own partner working with you though.
I agree. Smashing at them is not a good tactic unless you've got an excellent smash. If you can take time away from them, then you've won half the game. I too play with quite a few of older people and I find that attacking mid court and clearing to the back court works quite well. Especially if they are not as powerful they will give hit a weaker return and that will be a good chance to put the point away.
And I forgot... if you have time, a few deceptive shots will throw their anticipation way off course. Many older players relies on their anticipation to compensate for their loss of speed.
Attacking clear and fast drop to middle. Thank you for the homework. I will practice with my ugly netplay. One more question. Do you see opponents' positions when you smash? I am short but I can jump a little and smash at the endline but darn I can not see the opponents. I just rely on the picture in my head taken just before my jump. I think It will be very advantageous If I can see the opponents when I hit the shuttle. This is related with Oldhands' very good clear skill.
Let's hear it.. ..from our own Oldhand and what he's got to say about the best way to play against him...
clear to the corners or drop to the corners works, but you can also watch them play other people to learn more about them.
I will try to record. But If I do a single match with them I think I can deal with them except few of them. But when I am in the double problem start.
depending on the situation, you might just want to use them as punching bags (figuratively). if it's just a friendly club match, where it doesn't really matter who wins, i'd smash at them whenever i feel it should be done. even if they win the point, you're still practising. afterwards, you can ask them for tips to improve your smash. in a competition, really, it just comes down to playing to your strengths. you said it yourself, you can easily beat most of them in singles. so it's that simple. before the game, talk with your partner, and basically make the guy play singles, avoid the forecourt person if they're good.
yeah... its not easy to find a compatible partner in terms of skills. just have to enjoy it or communicate more on strategy. If he doesn't agree with your or cant execute what has been agreed, too bad. Just enjoy it. You will just have to play harder to beat the stronger player.
I like to play my opponents on their own merits, rather than strategise due to some common characteristic. As we all know, most opponents, young and old, will have weaknesses that will make themselves apparent given the right sort of questioning. I agree that older folk will tend not to move so well, and will tend to react slower,and these tendencies make me try for these probable weaknesses first. I (like many people I guess) will try various shots early in the first game to judge abilities - folk's age merely rearranges the order in which I do this.
How to play against a strong player Hi, Use an old player as "punching bag" ??? OMG, they might be too fragile for yr practice. Ok, being an old player, I think I too love to go for placement shots than smashing n speed play. A quicker pace of play may easily exhaust my stamina, a precise drop will be more taxing than a smash.But if I am fit, then I will defintely give u a good challenge. Lee
of course. if you gain both the knowledge and the stamina, you'd be a very good player. the only problem is, most people gain the knowledge after losing stamina because when people have stamina, few look to improve their knowledge of the game, relying on smash and bash tactics. it's almost a catch 22.
Wah... that sounds like me. Worse... I lost stamina and got injured before I started thinking... :crying:
This is one humble remark. Without this exprience (unless you have a coach to tell you), one will seldom think where to place the shuttle when they play.
I don't think this was mentioned. But I remember reading a tip from Badminton Central about playing a better player. You hit quick shots to your opponent to not give him time to react. If you keep doing that it won't be a competition of technique or footwork, but reaction. Now that I think of it, this would really mislead people. If the weaker person tries to smash to hit a quick shot at the opponent, and the opponent drops, he would really be in trouble. So try to hit as much quick shots as you can towards your opponent while maintaining your base position.
