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5:21 am
November 3, 2013
Offline
Currently, I stand center front during doubles. I manage to take care of looser serves pretty consistently. However, when my opponent serves well, I find myself usually sending a weak upwards semi drive (since it would go out if i hit too hard). This is a weak and powerless shot. When I see professionals play, almost all the time they can play at least a flat drive and it is usually the receiver that gains the initiative after several strokes.
Should I move to right behind the service line? I can still make it in time for proper flick serves. However, there are a lot of illegal drive serve/other illegal forms of serving which I usually fail to catch. I complain but the opponents usually deny this.
An additional thing to note is that I don't know how to play a proper drive 
. Can anyone help me with this?
I see servers that do not get in a ready position (stroking the feathers, both hands completely down etc) to serve then suddenly launching a serve. I believe I have a disadvantage because I do not know when he gets to serve within a big time frame (lets say 20 seconds). Is this allowed? Does he have to get in a ready position and then serve within a few seconds? The BWF handbook does not mention this at all.
Sucky thing is, I'm the youngest guy, so according to Asian tradition I am inferior in every aspect of knowledge.
10:28 am
February 15, 2011
Offline
Hi Alex
I could spend a lot of time on this subject. The difficulty here is that what I teach and what the professional players do is completely different. However what I teach works for us mere mortals. That said, I'd love to see what would happen if a professional took up my thoughts and whether with their excellent speed and agility they see an improvement.
The key for me is where the racket head is in relation to the net. I teach players to lower their racket head so that it is in line below the top of the net. think about it. If your racket is in this position then as you move in your racket is in the perfect line to push or tap a shuttle into a space. From this position you do not lose valuable fractions of a second lowering your racket to hit the shuttle. This makes all the difference in terms of returning the shuttle from a tight serve.
To line your racket up consider where your hands should be. If the racket head is in line as stated, and the head is almost pointing vertically to allow greater directional control, the hands must be working around the lower half of the net. This is where I believe the greatest advances can be made in terms of the net area whether returning serve or playing net shots.
I have video footage somewhere of this and will be recording more at Lilleshall in September.
Paul
6:18 pm
March 10, 2013
Offline Sound advise as usual from Paul.
If, as you say you can, you move your receiving position closer to the front service line ( and still be able to effectively deal with flick serves ) then incorporating Paul's advise as well will make a huge difference.
What is not so easy is to deal with are the illegal and downright sneaky serves, but you do have the laws of the game on your side.
“The server shall not serve before the receiver is ready. However, the receiver shall be considered
to have been ready if a return of the service is attempted.”
So do not move on a serve that you consider is trying to catch you off guard or is a service fault.
Remember that continually flouting the laws of the game to gain an advantage is cheating, plain and simple.
It never fails to amaze me how many people, even if they have been playing for years, don't know the laws of the game.
A good idea is always to have an up to date copy of the laws in your bag so that, if challenged, you can prove your point.
Hope this helps
Roger
6:49 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
December 4, 2010
Offline I would also say watch the shuttle, look for tells (i.e does he do anything different say when using a flick serve). And take each serve on its merit.
4:46 am
November 3, 2013
Offline Thanks Paul and Roger!
@Paul-I would like to clarify one thing. If the head is pointing almost vertically, wouldn't I have to twist the fingers to hit? I understand vertical means that there is less air resistance.
@Roger-Even if I cannot always smash flick serves, I would like to challenge myself (stand right behind the service line) and I believe eventually I will make it consistently. Hmm.. I like the idea of printing out the service rules (maybe the whole handbook is a bit too much). I would like to note there is an extra challenge in having to watch the opponent's hand movement to check if it is illegal, then by that time I should have missed the shuttle.
Another additional question I would like to pose is…which foot should I use to rush? I stand with left leg at front. If I move the left leg forward, I don't get much distance (although I haven't tried yet), whilst the right foot might be too slow.
I will try all the suggestions above and see how it works out.
2:29 pm
March 10, 2013
Offline Hi Alex
The laws of badminton only run to 11 pages and can be downloaded from here
http://www.worldbadminton.com/rules/
As you will find in the section on serving the main points to watch for from a server are :
Racket pointing in a downwards direction when striking the shuttle
Shuttle struck below the servers waist ( the bottom rib)
Feet not touching the lines
Serving only when the receiver is ready.
10:31 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Alex
If the racket head is virtually vertical you have far more options available to you.
With regard to which leg to step on, if you are bending both legs and properly poised to spring in both directions, by staying low with your whole body, you are best placed to step using your racket leg and really taking the shuttle early.
I have seen a number of professional players stepping in on their non racket leg. I assume they do this for a number of reasons
1) it's potentially quicker taking a small, short step
2) being in place faster allows the shuttle to be taken earlier.
3) the skill level at this level means unless the return is exceptionally poor then no advantage is gained.
I think we have to remember that it's so rare to see a low serve buried in professional badminton. And, the higher the standard the less this is seen. So, players recognise that shuttle position is critical to the inch at times to potentially gain any advantage.
Paul
11:35 pm
May 25, 2010
Offline This is a good topic and serving and where to serve is something I’m always interested in! It’s the start of a point and even though you generally don’t win points outright, on the serve, you can do later on in the rally. A good serve sets you off nicely. And serving when you are 19-20 down in a match, love it!
Be aware when attacking a serve that if you hit it low and hard, they can sometimes return it quite easily reusing the power and speed from your shot, so your partner needs to be aware that it can come back as quick as you just hit it.
I have been serving to the T, which ever side I’m standing. I have found this to be the best spot to serve to in terms of narrowing down your opponents return. I will then mix it up by throwing a couple of shots to the other corners of the serving box but generally, aim for the T.
If you are struggling as the opponent some how seems to attack your serve easily even though it is quite close to the net, think about the shuttle flight pattern and try changing that.
I would be really interested to know how Alex has got on with this and if he has made progress. I would do what Paul recommended, although it’s better to see it (I had an opportunity to attend one of his coaching courses) visually than in written form.
Badminton Gives Me A Purpose In Life – To Serve Others
I'd Rather Be Playing Badminton…………..
10:39 am
January 7, 2015
Offline Such a vital shot and variation is key here, just playing drives, although effective on loose returns will eventually get pounced on as Peter Warman pointed out. Try and mix it up. However, I’m a big fan of watching professional doubles on YouTube and there is a common and notable trend with returning good low serves (which they are 90% of the time at this level). A soft touch to the centre of the net seems to work consistently well at gaining the lift we all desire.
The central net shot reduces selection and angle of reply for opponents. Your recovery has to be quick to deal with mid court pushes following your shot but as long as the return is played well this will be a challenge for your opponent as they’ll have to be pretty quick to return your shuttles at net height. If you practise this shot enough, eventually it becomes unmanageable and a high clear to the back is required by your opponents.
This is probably the one shot that I practise most when in training, returning serves with central soft touches, light hands and lightening quick recovery. Great for level doubles, not so much for MX (from a male perspective) as it difficult not to commit to the net after playing. Try not to be too committed to one or two shots though, mix it up as much as possible with a few bank shots. Combine that with Pauls techinal advice in the beginning and you’ll be a force to reckoned with on returning serves.
7:25 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline I agree Marcus that this shot is exceptionally good and you need excellent hand skills to perfect it.
International players tend to close down the angles from the serve. Whilst they have variation in their game, it tends to be relatively narrow focused. After all, they are seeking perfection from every shot. Because of this they tend to use just a few variations extremely well. I look at most doubles at this level as a stalemate situation and that’s why the third shot becomes so important.
At local league level, movement is so poor compared to international players that there are so many gaps on court to exploit. This therefore removes the need for a high risk, high skills shot such as Marcus was describing and allows for a safer and usually more tactically sound return.
Paul
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