How to Win Men's Doubles in Badminton?

I'm going to talk about men's doubles in this post. If you play mixed or women's doubles, some of the principles still apply to your game. More importantly, I'll explain the reasoning behind it to help you understand how the game works.

First thing first, people will tell you that you need to trust your partner, but I want to remind you that this is the basis, but not enough to win. To achieve victory, you need to set aside personal ego and assess both your partner and yourself objectively.

You may think you are better than your partner, but the bad news is that even if it is true, you are extremely unlikely to be better than him in every aspect of the game. You may think he is better than you. Even if it is true, he still needs your help.

The bottom line is trying to figure out who is better is pointless in a doubles game. Both of you should think about how to maximize strengths and protect weaknesses for each other.

To figure it out, there is actually a better way, which is by studying how your opponents play you. In a 21-point game, experienced players use the first 10 points to test and figure out their opponents and make adjustments when the game is on the line. If suddenly all your opponents' attacks are targeted at you, it means you are the weaker one in your own partnership.

This brings me to my second point: you need to disrupt your opponents' game plan in order to win. Remember, this is not about what you think you are good at. Say you think you have a powerful smash and yet somehow your opponents keep lifting the birdie to you as if they are not afraid. If it happens like that, I guarantee you that not only do they have no fear of your smashing, they believe that's their best chance to win.

Sometimes the amateur players' obsession with smashing astonishes me. Smashing may look cool and powerful, but it is the easiest to defend in men's doubles game. When you watch the professionals, it seems satisfying when they "nail" the floor with a winning smash. But I'll suggest you rewind the tape to see the shots before that; usually, one of the previous shots did the real damage.

Smashing is easier to defend because the defenders hardly need to move. And no one, I mean NO ONE, can smash consecutively 3 times and maintain the same quality.

Anyway, your winning strategy should be figuring out what your opponents try to do and disrupting it. If they want to keep you in the back court, find a way to go to the net and let your partner handle the back. If they are content with a fast and flat exchange, do some lifting and move them around.

There are lots of nuances in doubles’ strategy, but one constant principle is to disrupt your opponents' plan.

There are two common mistakes I see players make all the time. The first is changing minds.

In doubles’ game, sometimes when your opponent sees you go for a spot, they send the shuttle elsewhere. Your move may have been premature and was a mistake, but the best course of action for you is to stay the course and don't change your mind and chase the shuttle. We all make mistakes from time to time, and that is why we have a partner. He will take care of your mistake. Either way, you'll have to trust him because the alternative is worse. When you started chasing a spot, your partner should be moving to cover the vacancy you left already. When you change your mind and go back, you are going to collide with your partner. This is a classic case of two wrongs don't make it right, for you or your partner.

The other cardinal sin in MD is getting in your partner's way. Actually, this happens more often in professional plays, particularly because these top-end athletes can get to every part of the court and feel like flexing their muscles. I'll do a video at some point to illustrate this point because of its intricacy. Here, I want to stress that if your partner is in position to make a shot, you should move out of the way. Trying to turn back and use your lousy backhand only makes it worse.

These principles are easy enough for anyone to understand, but they are actually extremely unfair to use as standards. Most players cannot do that because of timing and technique, not because of willingness.

Timing in doubles play is crucial. If you find yourself standing still on the court after hitting a shot or when your partner is moving, your timing is off. Some players go for spots right before the opponent hits the shuttle, and that's a big mistake when facing technically sound players because they will use it against you and send the shuttle the other way at the last moment, fooling you and strangling your partner in the process. So don't guess; react.

Technique is not something I can explain in a few words. You really need to get to the training gym and find yourself a great coach. Sound technique starts with the right grip, then you can get your footwork right, then you can get your swinging motion right, then you can hit the birdie at high points, and then you can have the freedom to change your shot and execute your strategy. In other words, if you found my previous points hard to digest and execute, that means your technique is off.

Most players have a basic understanding of the attacking front-and-back and defending parallel formations. Rigidly sticking yourself to these rules is ill-advised.

Do you know that in attacking formation, the front player should adjust his position based on a number of considerations, including: 1. where his partner is going to hit the shuttle, 2. where the shuttle is going, 3. how fast the attack was, 4. what your partner's likely plan is after the shot, 5. what your opponent’s formation is, 6. what your prediction of the returning shuttle is, and 7. what your own strength, net play, or back court is.

Do you know that in defending formation, if the attack is not coming from the dead center, the closer defender should move back a bit and towards his sideline a bit, and the further defender should move forward a bit and towards the center a bit?

All of the points I talked about so far apply to women's and mixed doubles as well. As to amateur plays, it really has little to do with gender and more to do with technical ability. Some women players are stronger than their partners, and they should adjust accordingly. Hell, you can check out how effective it was when ZHANG Nan took care of the net and ZHAO Yunlei took care of the back court.

Playing badminton is fun, and winning brings more joy. Trusting your partner certainly is great, but a deeper understanding of the game can help you and your partner enjoy more and maybe win more as well.