Yes, i play doubles more than singles but i play singles as well. I was talking about doubles before, not singles. in singles it is vital that you have gud clears otherwise ur toast in no time. no other way around clearing. in DOUBLES though, as i said before, if the opponent has forced u to clear, it means tht ur opponent has given u enuf trouble to make u desperate fr sme time. u can surely expect a gud smash or a gud drop coming. i try my best not to clear in doubles, but im only a C grade player till date so i do smetimes clear. but i try to drop or smash as much as i can. again, it depends on the skill of ur opponents and the quality of ur clears.
Some terminologies first: By clearing, you mean returning a shot from your baseline by hitting as hard and as high as possible to your opponents baseline? By underhand clearing, you mean returning the shot with the wrist action of the hand almost as if you are opening a door knob? By clearing deep means ..... ? Deep smashing = sharp angle. Deep clearing = ??? Yes, in singles to be able to clear (if my above terminology is the same as what you guys are talking about) is very VERY VERY important. Do you clear with all your strength of your arm? Some wrist action? Combination? Pinky grip?
Terminology: Clear: usually short for overhead clear. A stroke played from your rearcourt to your opponent's rearcourt, with the shuttle hit high enough into the air so that your opponent cannot intercept it in the midcourt. Underhand clear: more properly called a lift. A stroke played from your forecourt or midcourt (or, in desperation, rearcourt) to your opponent's rearcourt, also travelling high. Defensive clear/lift: A clear or lift that is hit very high, to gain time for yourself and force the opponent right to the back of the rearcourt. Attacking clear/lift: A clear or lift that is hit on a shallower trajectory, with the aim of depriving your opponent of time and making him late to the shuttle. If used at the wrong time, your opponent may intercept this with a powerful midcourt smash. Clearing deep: describes executing a successful clear that lands on or very near the back line of the court. Sometimes implies a defensive clear rather than attacking.
the reason the badminton guide said 'deep and high' is simply because that's what it's meant by a clear. if it was net low it would become a push. the guide didn't necessarily state that a clear was better than a push/drive, i guess =) anyway a clear does give you enough time so split left-right, so u can still defend a smash.
I play doubles quite often too and usually return a high clear and realise that opponents keep dropping. How do you counter that? I know you guys have said not to clear unless out of desperation, but if not, I can think of the following: 1. Drop - needs good accuracy, not too high above net otherwise opponents will kill 2. X-court drop - opponents can return with no problems, usually. 3. Smash - only if there is a good chance to smash. 4. Push - sounds good while i am thinking & typing now ! Me and partner seem more like singles player so when we paired up against veteran, we normally tire out when we keep clearing and they keep dropping from their baseline because after every clear, we try to return to own position in case they also clear or smash but more often, they drop. What do you guys advice? Do more fast/powerful pushing ?
How about cross-net? This stroke is the most devastating of kills I have seen. Even many high-intermediate and advanced players I have watched struggle to react to such strokes. Yet few talk of this stroke in this forum...
monster i think the best cure for your side is to ATTACK more. according to you it seems that your opponent possesses too much initiative. that is not good. you need to attack in doubles instead of getting played by the opponent. (but if you believe you're flawless in defence that'll be a different case) otherwise, attack is the best thing to do. just keep telling yourself----CONTACT THE SHUTTLE EARLY
Since you are playing against the veterans for a long time and sure that they will keep on dropping,the net man can move forward and kill the bird. But don't move forward after all clears when your opponents change. Powerful attack is absolutely necessary to win a doubles game.Kill the bird at the earliest chance.Give a lightning smash between your veteran opponents who expect as usual a clear from you.
Divingbirdie and Joonu: I also think I shd contact the bird as early as possible and give it a net smash. I tried and seems to work for a while until they change their play. They have their "double strokes" where we were deceived for a drop just to find out that it was a clear. However, that's a completely different story. Anyway, just an update, the net smash does work but we had to be very quick in rushing to the net. After a while, they change strategy and gave double strokes and rushing to the net became useless.
their double strokes = fake net, hit clear? that should open sufficient opportunity for your side to initiate an attack. anyway no hurry if u can't win against veterans. try to learn from the game gl
I use deep clears in offense when I notice that the opponent has problems with his footwork, meaning stepping backwards to get to the shuttle early. even if they'll be able to return the shot, still, there is a good chance that the opponent is out of balance and the return is weak .... a good way to set-up for a smash. However, if you are playing with advance players.... do start to pray... because they know you are in trouble.
i fully agree. in doubles attack is needed all the time, rallies simply cannot be won with clears (unless, you're playing noobs or ur clear is extremely deceptive). and yes, clears are a gud way to get an opponent who isnt sure-footed into trouble.
very occasionally within my game after a prolonged period of attack i may hit a very attacking clear right into the back-=hand corner of my opponant yes i hear many of you shouting WHAT!!!! but i have found that if you are constantly smashing dropping players tend to lean/move slightly forward so that they can be quite unbalanced when faced with a attacking clear i say only occassionally but i do feel the clear does have a slight role to play in doubles
yup, very true. at my levelof play we clear frequently in doubles, especially when we are pitted against B or A graders (no choice lol). clear is also very effective in doubles when your oponents are not properly coordinated about their court coverage. a deep clear in such situations could easily set you up to win the rally
Not that many halls (height wise) in which you can get a truly vertical dropping feather, but another bonus of this type of shot is that the feather may pass in front (and close too) a light and temporarily unsight your opponent.
clearing deep and high onli when u know u cant make the perfect net shot or not fast enuff to 'tap' the bird ... just do a deep and high clear to get urself in position to make ur plan for the next kill ... be it a net play, a push, a tap or a trick shot .... but its usually easier said than done .. hehe
i agree, the most important point about clearing deep and high is to give you and your partner time to recover your composure.. another thing it also does that hasn't been mentioned is to force a particular opponent to move to the back; e.g. force the weaker opponent to play it from the back, hopefully giving your side a chance to go on the attack.
I dont normally use clears in doubles but for singles it is brilliant as you are playing more intensely so you need more time to recover.. it also gets your opponent running around more because you can either return with a dropshot or another clear.
i dont normally use clears in doubles, much more in singles. but if you know when to clear in doubles, it can be extremely effective. the suprise factor can catch your opponent easily off guard and he/she will most likely hit a half-courter where you can easily finish off the rally.
