My preference for a partner would be a skillful one. I am assuming that by “power player” we are referring to someone with an exceptionally powerful smash, and that they do not possess lots of deception and variations. A skillful player will still have a very reasonable smash, but will be able to place the shuttle more accurately and possesses a larger variety of shots. It is important that the decision is not “do you wish your partner had more or less power?” – there must be a sense of trade off otherwise it is not worth discussing. Anyway – why do I want this kind of partner?

A powerful player will be able to finish off rallies where the shuttle is lifted short, and the occasional random winner from further back. Against a weak defence, they may create lots of opportunities to kill the shuttle. However, against a good defence, power means nothing. A good defence will happily keep the power player at the back, because they know that nobody can really hit through them from the back line (once or twice is acceptable – it will not be the norm).

A skillful player will be able to finish off the rallies where the shuttle is lifted short, but by hitting the lines or being deceptive. A skillful player will not be able to hit winners from the back line, but will instead create doubt in the mind of his opponent – they should have no idea where the next shuttle is going. Moreover, they will be worried about the “inevitability” of lifting to a skillful player. No matter how well you defend, a skillful player will give you very little rhythm and constantly create doubt. This leads to plenty of opportunities for both players to kill the shuttle.

Thus, against a weak defence, the power player will have an easier job of winning points (setting me up at the net). But against a strong defence, they become powerless. Furthermore, their lack of front court game is probably going to hinder the partnership, meaning we get “stuck” in our “favoured” formation with them at the back and me at the front, and unable to really dominate our opponents. However, a skillful partner will run rings around a weak defence, and will seriously stress out a stronger defence, but will also have the ability to implement different tactics to try and gain an advantage. We will be able to rotate and, importantly, I will get a turn at the back 😀

In terms of singles, the level of skill or power of the player doesn't really matter – it is their quality of movement around the court. Playing against a very fast and very powerful opponent is extremely difficult, until your defence reaches a certain standard whereby you can retrieve their powerful shots. Similarly, playing against a skillful opponent that is extremely fast is very difficult, because you will have to cover more of the court and will have to twist and turn more – until your movement efficiency reaches a certain standard whereby you can rally comfortably covering the whole court at a slightly “slower” pace. Thus – your ability to play against both types of player is determined by your movement skills. I think a powerful player will be easier to deal with on the whole, as they tend to have less variety (which is a killer for footwork!).