Is it a valid serve?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by arundeep, Mar 9, 2020.

  1. arundeep

    arundeep Regular Member

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    I was at a recent national school level badminton championships. (just to be clear, I was just watching it :) ). I could not figure, if this is a valid serve, I tried to take video. Not sure if it is good enough for someone to see it clearly.

    It seems wrong to me, but not sure, if the shuttle turns at the time of hitting.



    i just shot another one, just in case got the timing right here :)

     
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  2. phihag

    phihag Regular Member

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    I'm assuming you play under typical national regulations (technically the BWF alternate service laws):

    Racket angle: This is only a 30fps video, when the shuttle hits the racket the grip is higher than shuttle, so the racket shaft must be downwards. Somewhat close, but if I was judging on this court, I would not fault it.
    Height: The whole shuttle must be below the lowest rib. It's close, but I would allow this height.
    Hitting base first: With 30fps there is no way to tell, but the server may be hitting the shuttle skirt before hitting the base. It's easier to hear from sound, and you'll see the shuttle (and response) tumble wildly.
    Feet: The left foot is not touching the ground starting about 2 frames (<0.1 seconds) before the shuttle is hit. As a human, I'd probably invoke ITTO §6.7 and not call a fault, but if I had the clarity granted by slow-motion video, I'd certainly fault it.

    Racket angle: Clearly downwards, no question about it.
    Height: Maybe a tiny bit higher than before. Calling a fault would not be a mistake, but I'd probably let it fly.
    Hitting base first: Clearly not a problem.
    Feet: Not visible in the video, look ok.

    In summary, the first serve is a fault because the left foot doesn't touch the ground. In both instances the shuttle is high, but not so much that every service judge would always call fault. Without service judges or even umpires, I'd allow both serves as a coach or opponent.
     
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  3. iAsianGuy

    iAsianGuy Regular Member

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    At a school level, I would allow this. But if you're playing with more experienced players they may not allow it.

    IMO this is quite questionable.
     
  4. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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  5. arundeep

    arundeep Regular Member

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    Thanks for your replies. Yes, it is at school level. I should have clarified that the point I was looking for was "Hitting base first: With 30fps there is no way to tell, but the server may be hitting the shuttle skirt before hitting the base. It's easier to hear from sound, and you'll see the shuttle (and response) tumble wildly."

    The way shuttle leaves the hand and the racket hits it, it appears it hits the skirt first, maybe not always. Other points are important, but was not my point of interest in this question, but still good to get a feedback :). At this competition, there were players, who completely moved their front foot when doing forehand high serve, so this small movement of foot was not a problem at all :). You can see an example of it in the first video on the second court.

    All, in all I need to have a better phone camera :D:D
     
    #5 arundeep, Mar 10, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020

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