Feints and fakes exist in most competitive sports that require handling an object (a ball or a shuttlecock) while the players are on the move. Two example sports would be basketball and football (soccer), in which players use many tactics to try and fool the defensive players in order to obtain a victory. They may do a hesitation move, a shoulder fake or other such actions to get by the defender(s) and get an opening for a shot or a pass. Fakes and feints contribute to the overall quality of a game, and there’s no sport I can think of that have as many types of feints and fakes as badminton.
Badminton has certain special characteristics, such as the lightness of the fact that one can hit with both sides of the racket plus factors such as timing, spacing, power, speed, and decision-making and the net that serves as the dividing boundary in the middle that make feints and fakes so prominent in this sport. A player can use feints and fakes for almost every hitting action, even in serves, which are strictly regulated but one can still use trickery as long as the movement is within the boundary of the rules or the tolerances of the referee. The feints and fakes is an important part of badminton that makes the sport more enjoyable to watch and play. Below are some of the “classic” techniques used by players in order to trick the competition.
I) Fakes and feints during service
There are both forehand and backhand serves in badminton. Due to the fact that the racket has more space to maneuver and a long stroke in the forehand serve, it’s easier to employ trickery in this category of service.
Forehand serve fakes no. 1: Stand near the middle front of your service area with your two feet forming a rough “T” and your body facing the sideline. Now bring your racket back to the furthest point allowable, which will make the receiver think that you’ll be attempting a long serve and he/she will prepare accordingly. When it’s time to serve, start like how you would normally hit a long serve but slow your swing at the last possible moment and gently strike the birdie at an angle, which will result in a short serve. Aim for the front corners of the receiver’s service area so that the receiver will have a harder time making an effective return, which gives your side the advantage.
Forehand serve fakes no. 2: This is basically the opposite of the above technique. This time you should only bring your racket back a little bit to prepare for the stroke so that the receiver thinks that you’ll be making a short serve so he/she will pay more attention to the frontcourt. When actually hitting the birdie, use a quick flick of your wrist to fire off either a quick flat serve or a high arcing long serve. Because the receiver’s attention has been drawn to the front, he/she will have to take time to adjust in order to return the shuttle, which means that it’s more difficult for the person to make a good return.
Backhand serve fake no. 1: Stand near the inner front corner of the service area but don’t step on the lines. Go into a backhand serve stance and face the receiver so that it looks like that you are going to serve to his/her inner front corner. When serving, use the regular stroke for the backhand short serve except at the last moment, turn your writs to that the bird flies toward the outer front corner of the opponent’s service area. This will decrease the chance of the receiver has to make an interception.
Backhand serve fake no. 2: Stand near the inner front corner of the service area and go into the stance for the backhand short serve. During the serve, do the short serve stroke but when you are about the hit the bird, use your thumb and wrist to make a fast flick serve to the back service line, which will surprise the receiver and give the advantage to your side.
II) Fakes and feints when receiving serves
Returning the serve is extremely important because the return can affect the outcome of the rally. No matter if you are playing singles or doubles, making a good return to a serve will mean that your side can get on the offensive and make it easier for you to get service back. Because there are lots of feints and fakes for receiving serves, I can only list some of the more common techniques. Having good decision-making skills, quick reflexes, and strokes that doesn’t reveal true intentions to the opponent are essential for making these techniques work.
Service return fakes no. 1: Stand in the front and middle of your service area and get into the receiving stance. When the server makes a short serve and if you decide to use your backhand to make the return, take one large step forward. The stroke should look like if you are trying to draw and “S” with racket when moving the racket face up. At the last moment, use the changing motions of the wrist to return the bird to the area near the net and on your backhand side.
You can also use the technique above with the forehand stroke to return the bird to the farthest front corner from the receiver or push the bird down to middle of the sideline.
Service return fakes no. 2: This is called the “drop instead of swat” fake. You have to be able to react fast and predict correctly where the bird is going to be in order to accomplish this technique. When the server make the serve, immediately lunge towards the net as if you are going to swat the bird right back at him/her. The server will go into defensive stance by instinct to receive your fast return. When you are just about the hit the bird, restrain your arm and lightly tap the bird and direct the bird to the two front corners by using a motion of the wrist. The defender, having planted his/her feet to the ground, would be slow to react to the change trajectory and will have a hard time making the return, which can result in an error or an ineffective return this gives you the advantage.
Service return fakes no. 3: This is the “flick to the backcourt instead of drop shot” fake. The key to this is using the delay before the hit to fool the opponent. When the serve is made, immediately go towards the bird and make it look like that you are trying to drop the bird back over the net, but don’t hit the bird just yet. Let your racket follow the trajectory of the shuttle a little bit as if your racket is being pushed back by the bird. When the bird reaches a certain position (height), use the power of your forearm and wrist to quickly lift the bird to your opponent’s backcourt. If you do this well, the opponent will be fooled into moving forward while the bird flies towards the back of the court.
Service return fakes no. 4: This technique involves using your body as a distraction to fool the opponent into thinking that you are going to hit to one direction when you will actually hit to the opposite direction. This feint requires good coordination of the body and racket hand together, or else you are just as likely to fool yourself. You’ll have to predict where the bird will be when the opponent serves. When the serve comes, move your entire body towards the flying shuttle with your body in front and the racket face in front of your chest ands stomach. Hold the racket with a backhand grip. Because of your body is going first, it may become a visual obstacle for the opponent and he/she will have a harder time seeing the movement of your racket. By instinct, they will think that you will hit the shuttle in the direction of the movement of your body, but you can use this situation to conceal a small turn of wrist and put the bird to the middle of the opposite sideline. In doubles, hitting to the middle of the sidelines makes it hard for both front and back players to get to the bird. This particular technique is performed to the highest degree by the Danish and the Indonesian men’s doubles teams in present day.
III) Fakes and feints at the net
There are many ways to hit the bird when you are close to the net. You can slice, roll, hook, push or use another motion to put the bird back over to the other side. This variety of hitting motions means that there are a lot of ways to fake the opponent out and these techniques aren’t very difficult to learn either.
Fakes at the net no.1: When the opponent makes a drop shot near the net, move quickly to the right position so that the bird hasn’t dropped below the level of the top of the net. Raise your racket as if you are going to push the bird back to mid-court to draw your opponent’s attention but instead rotate your wrist at the last second and make a drop shot towards the front corner that is further from the opponent.
Fakes at the net no. 2: When the opponent makes a drop shot near the net, move quickly to the right position and extend your racket forward so that the hitting surface is right below the falling birdie. This makes it looks like that you are trying to drop the bird right back at the opponent but you can fool the opponent by changing the target to the corners with a motion of the wrist.
Fakes at the net no.3: This technique is used to counter an overhead drop shot from backcourt. You’ll have to predict the trajectory of the bird and get to the position in time. Pull your racket back a lot as if you are going to lift the bird to the backcourt. This will prompt your opponent to stay in the middle to the back of the court in order to receive the return. When the bird contacts your racket, pull back the power and make a hairpin drop or a crosscourt drop that will at least pull your opponent(s) out of position and give your side the advantage.
Fakes at the net no. 4: When you are battling an opponent up at the net and the opponent makes a drop shot to one of the front corners, you should quickly run to spot before the bird falls below the top of the net and extend your racket as if you are going to do a block return. Your opponent will be expecting the immediate block so don’t hit the bird immediately, but instead wait for the bird to drop below to the top of the net before rolling the bird back over. This technique is basically a hesitation move that can freeze your opponent which will increase the chances of an error or a bad return.
Fakes at the net no. 5: This is one of the most impressive fakes in badminton. The technique involves using a backhand stroke to return the bird but instead of hitting the bird, the player lets the bird fall a bit and then drops the bird to the other front corner with a forehand swing.
IV) Fakes and feints for mid-court shots
When the opponent makes a high return to the mid-court, most people would take the opportunity to attempt a smash or a jump smash to finish the opponent off, but there are also many fakes and feints that can achieve the same results while requiring less physical exertion. These techniques will also prevent your opponents from getting into good defensive positions to counter your attacks.
In order to make mid-court fakes work, you most keep your overhead strokes constant until the last moment. What I mean is that the swing of a drop, a clear, or a smash should look the same at the start so that the opponent won’t be able to know what shot you’ll make until the very last moment. These fakes and feints are mostly controlled by your wrist and your forearm.
Fakes at mid-court no. 1: If your opponent makes a bad shot, he/she will by instinct go into full defensive mode. The opponent will plant his/her feet and lower their body in anticipation for a smash. At this time, you can change your smash into an overhead drop shot to one of the front corners, which will give your opponent a very hard time. Jumping during this technique may also help you sell the fake to the opponent.
Fakes at mid-court no. 2: When the opponent makes a bad return to mid-court, you can take the opportunity to jump up and smash. You can also use the block drop technique to drop the bird to one of the front corner. For those of you who don’t know, a block drop is basically intercepting the bird with the racket face. There is no follow-through in this technique.
Fakes at mid-court no. 3: When playing against people with good defenses, it’s very difficult to get a kill with a smash. This is especially true doubles game. Sometimes it may be more effective to let the bird fall a little to shoulder height and then drive the shuttle hard down the sideline or straight at the face or chest of a defender. My good friend Mr. Su is a master at this technique, and he ends quite a few rallies with this “killer” move.
Fakes at mid-court no. 4: When a fairly skilled player gets into good defensive position, smashing at him/her may yield a 40-60% possibility for a kill. You can pull the defender out of position by making an attacking clear to backcourt instead of smashing and then clear the bird again to the opposite corner to tire the defender even more. Now that the opponent is out of position and out of breath, it will be much easier to score a kill with a smash.
V) Fakes and feints in the backcourt
Most of the time when you get pushed into the backcourt by the opponent, you will be in the one under attack and your opponent(s) will probably be waiting at mid-court for opportunities. Usually your only choices are to clear or drop, but if you can incorporate some fakes and feints into your backcourt shots, it may be easier for you turn the tide to your favor.
Fakes at backcourt no. 1: When the opponent hits a shot right to your backhand rear corner, you may be able to reach it in time with an around the head shot or a backhand, but your opponent would be ready to pounce on a bad return. In this situation, there is a technique you can use to fool your opponent. Go into position for a backhand return, but don’t hit the bird and let it drop so that it looks like that you are waiting to see if the bird goes out or not. At the last possible moment, use an underhand backhand stroke to hit a crosscourt shot to the diagonal front corner. The time delay between when you would normally hit the shot and the time you actually hit the shot may be enough to fool your opponent into letting his/her guard down and they might not be able to react to your crosscourt drop shot.
Fakes at backcourt no. 2: In the same situation as the technique above, use a large swing for what looks like a backhand overhead clear, but instead use your wrist at the moment of contact to change the clear into a drop shot to the diagonal front corner, which can surprise your opponent.
Fakes at backcourt no. 3:
When the opponent will use attacking clears to drive you back to your forehand back corner, you can attempt to move back quickly and jump smash down the sideline. This move requires a lot of physical power to do and you can use a fake and get the same result. Because you are literally jumping back and facing forward, the opponent will pay more attention to the sideline. Now without turning your head, turn your racket and do a crosscourt diagonal smash to the middle of the other sideline. An easier variation would be to do a crosscourt drop shot to the far front corner, which can also bring good results.
Fakes at backcourt no. 4: A very common tactic in both single and doubles badminton is to force the opponents back to their backhand corner at the rear of the court, so that they wouldn’t have many good options for returns. If you got quick feet and good footwork, you may be able to get to that corner and attempt a jump smash. An even better technique would be to fake the jump smash and make the drop shot to the diagonal front corner. This is a fake that if executed well, is very difficult to defend against. In preliminary competition of the 2005 Sudirman Cup between the men’s doubles teams of China and Indonesia, one of the Indonesian players use this fake and managed to trick one of the Chinese players at the first game when the score was 14: 10.
There are still many more amazing fakes and feints in badminton, and I can’t go over every single one of them. No matter what techniques you are trying to use, here are some important pointers that will help you succeed in tricking your opponents with fakes and feints:
1. Make sure your strokes in a certain area look the same. For example, all your overhead shots (clears, smashes, drops) should look the same until the last moment, so that the opponent won’t figure out your plan ahead of time.
2. In order to make fakes work, you must be able to get to the correct position on the court before the shuttle gets there so you’ll have to time to think and use tricks.
3. Keep on practicing the techniques, learning from experience, and improving your fitness.
4. Take the time to evaluate your progress and improve your badminton “intelligence”.
Anything can happen in a badminton game. The feints and fake shots are the wonderful and marvellous skills in the badminton sport. Trickery techniques can play a role in all kinds of shots. The fast-pace and ever-changing play makes badminton such an enjoyable sport. If you become the master of all skills and tactics of badminton, you will be the winner for sure.
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