Hello everyone!

I am convinced that this forum is going to
flourish in no time, and I definitely want to be an active element in
the process. Let history show that this is my first attempt to spice
things up.

This thread is intended to help players (like
yours truly), from newbies to veterans, aspiring to play their best
games, to develop a healthy self-critical mind, a stronger sense for
tactics, better situational adaptability, and general insight into the
game.

My goal here is to make sure that although many people want
to participate, those reading though the posts will benefit just as
much from the process.

This thread is an experiment. Not a lab
coat experiment, and only a few steps from the kind of ‘experiments’
you were into as a toddler. How else did you figure out mud didn’t
taste like chocolate milk and putty colors don’t mix like crayon
colors? It should be an exercise in thought, but a light-hearted one.

Here’s
how it goes: one member will put up an in-game situation. A
freeze-frame of a real or imaginary game in which one player (called
Player) has a choice to make in light of the situation his opponent
(called Opponent) has or will put him in. It could be at any time, so
long as there is still enough time for Player to engage in an action
that leads to a shot being played.

I could give examples, but it
would make this sound like a rulebook. Common sense rules here. I have
no authority over this ‘game’, so I hope everyone will do their best to
stick with a workable form.

The description should include the position of Player and Opponent
and the shuttle, a description of the last shot played and eventual
landing point of the shuttle. Right handedness is assumed unless otherwise specified. The description could include many more
things, and it’s unlikely you’ll stick to only the very basics. You
could include:

– Relative strenghts and weaknesses, physical, mental or technical of Player and Opponent.

– Information about the shuttle (feather/synthetic, damage, flight path and speed, contact with net, etc).

– Condition of players’ rackets, court sides (sweat on court, broken strings), etc.

– Drafts. Those can be fun.

– These are just ideas. Add your own!

The most natural way to
organize this is in turns. Once a well-thought answer is conjured up,
the member should post his answer along with his own theoretical
situation IN THE SAME POST. Go for quality, but don’t forsake
continuity. I’m hoping this thread will do its time. In the case of
multiple replies to the same ‘problem’, the first one should take
precedence, and it then becomes the next ‘problem’ to ‘answer’, as per
the game.

I’ll get the ball rolling then!

Opponent
has replied to a cross-court drop to his forehand corner with a lift to
Player’s backhand corner. The shuttle is set to land near the corner of
the sideline and first long service line. Player has turned and is
lunging, aiming to take the shuttle just before it passes his shoulder
at full upward extension. He is currently lunging towards the corner
with his right foot still in the air, racked at the ready pointing
down. Elbow up.

While Player has good backhand drops and can
clear to both corners, his recovery speed from this kind of shot is
something he has to work on. Opponent on his end needed a deep lunge to
lift the shuttle semi-offensively, so his recovery to his center is
taking a bit longer than it would for a regular lunge. He is now ready
and a step away from his ideal base.

Keeping Opponent’s next shot in mind and, of course, the fate of the rally, what should the next shot be?