Effect of light reaction agility training (LRAT) on agility performance of young male badminton players

Introduction: The application of technology in sports is increasingly growing, including in badminton. Objectives: This study aims to determine the effects of technology-based training called light reaction agility training (LRAT) in improving the physical performance of badminton players' agility. Methodology: A quasi-experiment was employed in this study. The study involved 30 participants with the following criteria: active male undergraduate studies, aged 17-20 years, 9-12 years of training experience, normal body mass index, not injured, and voluntarily participated. To collect data, participants were divided into experimental (LRAT) and conventional groups, where each group underwent a training intervention for 6 weeks, 3 times a week. Then, an agility t-test was used to measure participants’ agility. Additionally, Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests were performed using the SPSS version 26. Result: The Wilcoxon test results showed that both LRAT (Δ = -0.43 ± 0.17 sec) and conventional (Δ = -0.22 ± 0.12) groups were able to improve the agility of badminton players (p<0.05). However, the Mann-Whitney results showed that the LRAT group was significantly better than the conventional group (p<0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that light reaction agility training (LRAT) can be used to improve the agility of badminton players.