BADMINTON DOUBLES TACTICS — ATTACK & DEFENSE

In a badminton doubles rally you will either be attacking or defending,

and it’s important to understand which tactical situation you’re in, where
you and your partner should be standing, and the effect your shot will have
on the situation. In other words,
it is important to understand basic badminton tactics!
1 Positioning Yourself for Attack and Defense.
You may already be familiar with the standard attack and defensive
formation in badminton doubles. But to understand badminton tactics it’s
also important to know why you stand in this way – especially in fast rallies
where the situation is not so clear cut and you need to improvise. So let me
talk about what the attack and defensive formations are, and why you stand
in those positions.
2 The Smash
The key to understanding attacking and defensive badminton tactics is the
smash. A smash is a powerful shot which is hit steeply downwards, with the
objective of getting a weak return or finishing the rally.
The standard badminton doubles tactic is to gain control of the rally by
forcing your opponents to lift, and then playing increasingly aggressive shots
until you can finish the rally with a smash. So attack and defence in
badminton doubles is determined by which side has lifted the shuttlecock so
the other side has the opportunity to smash.
3 Doubles Defensive Formation
Let’s say your partner lifts the shuttlecock up high enough for an opponent
pair to smash it into the mid-court. This opponent can smash, drop shot or
clear the shuttlecock; but as the smash is the hardest shot to return, it is the
smash that you should prepare yourself for.
So you and your partner should stand side
by side in the mid-court so that between
you, you cover the full court width. These
are the proper badminton tactics to ensure
that one of you is within reach wherever the
shuttlecock is smashed.
Your positioning in this instance is the
badminton doubles defensive
formation, and maximises your chance
of returning the smash. The players at
the bottom of the photo below are in
the typical defence formation.
DEFENSIVE FORMATION IN BADMINTON
 As you’re both in the mid-court, if your opponent plays a drop shot, you
should be close enough to the net to return it. If he clears, you should
have time to move back and hit it.
4 Badminton Doubles Attacking Formation
So let’s say your opponent clears the shuttlecock to your partner’s side, and
he’s quick enough to get in position to smash it. Your opponents will also
move to maximize their chance of returning his smash – they’ll stand side to
side in the mid-court, ready.
So where should you be standing? In this situation you assume your partner
will smash, so that’s what you should prepare for.
Assuming your partner smashes well, then your opponents should only be
able to either lift or play a net shot. If they lift it your partner can hit it again,
so your main task is to cover any replies to the net, and you should stand so
you’re in easy reach of these. This is the badminton doubles Attack Formation
– one of you covering lifts to the back, the other net shots at the front.
The players on the left in the photo are in the attacking formation:
However, if your partner’s smash is weak, or your opponents are very sharp,
then the best badminton tactics for them are to drive the shuttlecock in a flat
arc to the back (typically cross court away from your partner), or push the
shuttlecock past you to the mid court, so your partner has to stretch forward
to return it.
So an additional role for you is to anticipate other shots, particularly cross-
court drives, so you can intercept them and maintain the attack. Standing just
behind the T is usually the best place – close enough to the net to cover it,
but far enough back that it’s difficult to push the shuttlecock past you, and
you have a chance of intercepting those cross court drives.
Standing behind the T gives you the additional benefit of seeing the
shuttlecock sooner after your partner hits it, so you have more chance to
react to his shot. An important piece of badminton tactics advice is: if you’re
at the front you should never look back at your partner when he’s about to
hit the shuttle – you risk being hit in the eye and also won’t be watching your
opponents to see how they react to the shot. Watch your opponents as your
partner takes the shot, and if you watch where they’re looking you’ll get a
clue to where the shuttlecock is going too.
If you get possession of the shuttlecock while you’re at the front, your partner
should assume you’ll play a net shot, a drive, or a kill (smash) in front of you,
and that the opposition will lift to the back tramlines, either directly in front
of them or to the center. He should therefore stand within easy reach of both
these shots – but not so far back that he can’t reach any push shots that get
past you. http://www.badmintondoubles.com/badminton-tactics/badminton-tactics-1/