Deception – delaying net shots until the last moment – Steve’s Badminton Blog and Website

This week, we had a slow week in terms of badminton. We spent more time reviewing tactics and discussing game plans. The focus was on deception, specifically, delayed shots at the net. Let’s discuss.

Fred mentioned that Momota does not seem to do deception when he is at the net, and I find this to be not true. Han Jian also does not seem to do deception at the net, not in the same way that Lin Dan or Lee Chong Wei does, but his shots are full of deception. I discussed this in a blog some time back:

These types of deception are what Han Jian calls delayed shots. He does not do double motion, or pretend to hit one direction then change it to another. He simply times his footwork and swing so that he hits it after the opponent moves. The art of doing this is difficult as it needs to look like it is nothing, but in effect, it is the player waiting on the opponent to make a move first before he hits the shot. Han Jian keeps mentioning that Zhao Jianhua is the master of this. Rewatching many videos of Zhao Jianhua, you can bet that he will be doing it. Zhao likes doing it for his overhead shots, and because of that, it is very apparent. Han Jian does it for his net shots, and that makes it less apparent. In recent times, Momota does it at the net as well.

As there are more videos on Momota, so let’s discuss how he does it. Momota does it in a similar way to Han Jian, and there are not many videos of good quality when Han Jian does it, so it is hard to examine his approach. So, analysing Momota is a good proxy.

When going for net shots, Momota has a short swing, and because of that, he does not need to commit to the shot too early. He can wait until the last moment before deciding on where he is going to hit it. That allows him to delay his net shots all the time, letting him see where his opponent is, where his opponent is going, before hitting the shot. Let’s examine a game which Momota showcases this in abundance, the Antonsen vs Momota Swiss Open final in 2019.

In the snapshot above at 34:12, Antonsen plays a net shot Momota runs in to get. Antonsen takes up a position close to the net, ready to tap should Momota do a net shot. Momota could see that Antonsen was hovering near the net, and he chooses to lift the shot over Antonsen. He did not do a flick, as Antonsen has the height and speed to intercept a flick and hit it down. The safest shot is a lift which forces Antonsen back to the rear of the court.

In the snapshot above at 34:50, Momota sees Antonsen holding back at the rear of the court after hitting a drop shot. If Momota were to lift it, Antonsen would be able to smash it down as he has taken a good position to do so. Antonsen is gambling here on Momota lifting the shuttle again as Momota has done so throughout the entire match so far. But, as Momota does not just hit his shots based on a fixed pattern of play. He hits the shots to where the opponent is not going to be. And since Antonsen is no where near the net, Momota hits it to the net.

In this snapshot at 48:54, Antonsen hits a net shot, and he take a step back, preparing to do a rapid 2 step jump and smash. Despite Antonsen’s position near the net, Momota chose to do a net shot. Momota could see that Antonsen was starting to move backwards, ready to play the smash on either side. And because he could see Antonsen’s movement, he decided to play the net shot.

In the next second at 48:55, Antonsen jumps forward again to take the net shot. He is not able to tap the net shot by Momota as he was moving backwards when Momota hit the net shot, and this resulted in Antonsen requiring to move a longer distance to the net, first he has to stop his reverse, then leap forward to play the net shot.

Antonsen was focused on getting the shuttle back and did not consider the fact that Momota was there, ready to pounce on any net shot. A better shot for Antonsen would be to lift the shot all the way to the back of the court. It is a bit surprising that Antonsen did not see Momota hovering and chose to play a net shot with Momota so close. The result was an easy point for Momota.

We all see the execution of this deception from Momota all the time. The most amazing thing is that most of the time, we do not even realise that it is happening. That is the ultimate form of deception. It is so undetectable that the opponent does not know he is subjected to it. The opponent would only feel that he could not get the better of the player. Whatever he did, the player seems to be able to counter it and make him run more. That is exactly how Antonsen felt on this day.

Antonsen anticipates a net shot, but Momota sends it to the back. Antonsen anticipates a lift, but Momota sends it to the net. Antonsen feigns a net shot, ready to counter attack with a smash, but Momota sees through the ruse and plays a net shot. And when Antonsen tries to do the same, Momota is waiting there to tap his net shot.

This is not magic, or the Momota guessing everything which Antonsen is doing. Momota simply delays his shot and only decide on what shot to play after he sees his opponent committing to a shot. He is simply delaying his net shot until the last moment, and when he finally plays it, he does not need a double motion, or feign movement. He simply plays it away from his opponent.

To the untrained eye, there is nothing to see. Momota sends the shot to where Antonsen is not. But if you think deeper, then you will realise the skill of Momota at play here. There is no way for a player at this level not to be able to see where the opponent is going to play the shot if the opponent is not hiding his intent. Pullback your racquet, and your opponent can see if it is going to be a strong shot or weak one, based on how far you pull back the racquet. But what if the player does not pull it back until the last moment?

This is what I am talking about here. Momota is not pulling back his racquet to hit until after Antonsen has moved. He is delaying his swing to the very last instant. And because Momota is able to execute his moves with a vert short swing, he can afford to do that. This gives him a tremendous advantage in his net play as he has deception built into his normal play. And that is one of the skills which makes Momota so formidable. And the same thing is what made Han Jian so formidable in his playing days.

That’s all for this entry.

Until the next update, eat well, get plenty of rest, and keep the badminton going!