Badminton requires fast reflexes from the players, with the shuttlecocks travelling at up to 400km/hour. The world witnessed a thrilling game of three sets last night when the World No. 1 Carolina Marin took on World No 10 P. V. Sindhu in the Olympics gold match. With a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality, Sindhu was quite the underdog in the entire tournament but lost out a little bit at the end to Carolina’s shrieks and cunning game plan.
We hardly ever saw Marin repeating any patterns through the match, and also witnessed her changing the game in seconds to defeat Sindhu and clinch the gold. But what would have been most confusing to casual fans was the way she kept arguing with the umpire about the state of the shuttle, repeatedly demanding it to be changed.
Several reasons can be listed for a shuttle change. The most obvious one is that after repeated hits, the shuttle’s flight tends to get disturbed i.e., it either gets too fast or gets too slow, and then it gets difficult for the players to execute the desired strokes. Another easily discernible reason is that when the shuttle goes out of shape, i.e. a feather comes off, it becomes a distinctly different proposition to deal with, and so it is expectedly switched with a more ‘whole’ version.
Psychological tactic
Apart from these technical reasons, there could be a few psychological reasons behind demanding a shuttle change too. Either of the players could want to break the other’s rhythm, because you tend to take some time to adjust to the new shuttle’s flight and hence end up losing some crucial points.
In last night’s match, too, there were several times when the wily Marin wanted a shuttle change despite Sindhu not being interested in that. The latter went for a change only when the shuttle looked out of shape.
The frequent shuttle changes were a part of Marin’s strategy, along with her repeated shouts and court cleaning requests, to disturb Sindhu’s concentration and game plan. This tactic is used by many players to break the opponent’s rhythm and get some time to come back into the game.
When a player scores two to three points at a stretch and gets a lead in the game, it puts some pressure on the opponent and that is when one tries to go for these tricks to break the player’s winning streak rhythm. Also, compared to the receiver, the server is in an advantageous position during a shuttle change. Marin mostly went for a change when she had to serve.
Superstition
At times in a game, when one player keeps scoring one point after the other, the opponent tends to feel that it is an unlucky shuttle and opts for a change. Rally players prefer a slow shuttle as it helps them to control their strokes, while the fast paced ones go for a comparatively fast shuttle as it accentuates their sharp strokes.
So obviously in a match when a fast player is pitted against a slow player, both of them will want their desired fast and slow shuttle respectively, and that is when they argue with the umpire for a shuttle change. If both the players agree on the shuttle change, the umpire has no say in it and has to accept the change.
The umpire intervenes if either of the players disagrees, and he or she gives out a decision after checking the condition of the shuttle.
Air Drift
The air drift also plays a major role in the shuttle change plan. If the player is on the side of the drift, he/she will undoubtedly opt for a slower shuttle as the drift to some extent takes the shuttle a bit more forward. There lies a risk of playing third court negative if the shuttle is fast.
While on the other hand, the opponent will ask for a fast shuttle if he/she has to put in extra effort to push the shuttle to the third court, keeping in mind that he/she is pitted against the drift.
