The Relationship Between Arm Speed-Strength and Overhead Forehand Stroke Accuracy in Badminton Among University Students

Background: The overhead forehand stroke requires rapid, coordinated upper-limb action, yet the association between simple field measures of upper-body speed-strength and stroke accuracy in physical education students is unclear. This study examined the relationship between 15-second push-up performance and overhead forehand stroke accuracy among university students. Methods: In this cross-sectional correlational study, six purposively selected third-year students from the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq, completed a 15-second push-up test and a target-based overhead forehand accuracy test (12 trials, best 10 scored, maximum 50 points) in a single session. Pearson's correlation coefficient with a Fisher z-based 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated (α = .05, two-tailed). Results: Participants completed 16.67 ± 1.03 push-ups in 15 s and scored 32.50 ± 1.04 accuracy points. Push-up performance was strongly and positively correlated with overhead forehand accuracy (r = 0.92, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.99, p = .009; r² = 0.85). Conclusions: Within this small exploratory sample, students who completed more rapid push-ups tended to achieve higher overhead forehand accuracy. Because of the very small sample, the indirect measure of speed-strength and the wide confidence interval, the finding is preliminary and should be confirmed in larger samples using sport-specific measures of upper-limb power.