So my partner went for a net kill, shuttle went over and hit the floor, somehow he dropped/threw his racquet too. Not sure which hit the floor first, but a fault was called. I expected that once shuttle hits the floor rally is over so no fault. No one was put off playing a shot by the flying racquet. I assumed the racquet must have landed first. Just wondering, was a casual game and i never let a rule query get in the way of a game anyway. Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk
If the shuttle touched the ground before any of the racket flying business began, the situation is simple: It's a point for your side, because the shuttle touching the ground ends the rally. I'm assuming the racket went over to the opponent's side. Accidental racket dropping on your side is not penalized in any way. The laws allow the racket to cross over the net, but just as part of your stroke: I'd argue that the course of a stroke does not entail throwing the racket, and hence it's your fault.
When you said he dropped/threw racquet, do you mean onto the opponent's end of the court? Per Laws of Badminton 13.4.2, if it was in the course of the stroke AND before the shuttle "leaves play", I'd argue that this was not a fault...
Per rules of the game, the shuttle will not be in play when it landed on the floor. That is correct. However, many other things could be happening prior. Who called the fault? Did you ask that person the reason? What was the reason given? When was the fault called? Before, or after the shuttle landed? Before or after racquet dropped/thrown/flown? You also title thread as accidental. General convention of drop is that it falls down vertically, like when you roll the ball off the balcony railing. When it is thrown, it is in direction of someone or some place, ergo, it will not go vertically downward. A throw is deliberate. A racquet with slippery grip, or broken hand is not considered thrown, even though the action is similar. You also mentioned net kill. Did the killed shuttle land in your opponent's court? Where did the racquet land? Then you described flying racquet. Why did it fly? You write no one was put off playing a shot. How did you figure that? Pardon these late inquiries, I am only now getting back online and using badminton forum to improve mental wellness.
Where is this written that accidental racquet dropping on your side is not penalised in any way? I cannot find any such reference in the laws, or instructions, or in any competition regulations? Any action by a player (or coach) that distracts opponent is there, however, this is subjective, as it is opinion of umpire.
There is also no rule that hitting a hard smash is not penalized in any way. Badminton laws mainly list faults, not allowed actions. For an action on your side, the only rule that could apply is §13.4.5. Do you disagree? Have I overlooked a rule? For the purpose of discussion, let's assume that the umpire decides that indeed the accidental racket dropping did distract the opponent. Even then, it's not a fault or let: §13.4.5 explicitly requires a deliberate action. By definition, an accidental action is not deliberate. Therefore §13.4.5 cannot apply in this situation. §14.2.5 penalizes distraction – no matter whether deliberate or accidental – with a let. However, it only applies to actions performed by the coach. The coach did not drop the racket here, and @DuckFeet described the game as casual, so there likely was no coach. Therefore §14.2.5. cannot apply in this situation.
