Shot performance characteristics of badminton players of different skill levels

This study aimed to determine the differences in the shot performance of badminton players of different skill levels. The participants included 10 male college and 10 unskilled badminton players. Each participant was asked to perform backhand drives with varying degrees of effort while seated to avoid any influence of footwork. Each participant completed 50 trials. In each trial, shot performance was evaluated using a three-dimensional motion capture system along with video data. Additionally, shot accuracy, shuttle velocity, impact position, and shuttle launch angle were assessed. Skilled players had more accurate shots with higher shuttle velocities than the unskilled players. Notably, shuttle velocity increased with the subjective effort level in both types of players. Variability of the impact position was also examined in all trials, and no inter-skill level differences were noted. Moreover, shuttle launch angles were calculated in the left-right and vertical directions. No differences were observed between the skilled and unskilled players in the left-right direction. In the vertical direction, unskilled players hit more upward than skilled players; however, no differences were noted in their effort levels. These results suggest that skilled players adjust the shuttle velocity and vertical launch angle with varying degrees of effort to hit accurate shots. In contrast, unskilled players struggle to adjust vertical launch angle, resulting in inaccurate shots.