This week, the video where Fred and I discuss tactics to set up a kill shot is published. This is a good time to revisit this topic, but in the form of the blog. Let’s discuss.
A lot of topics are covered in a single training session, and I try to curate only the most important topic for the day into a few videos. This is especially true when I am conducting the training. When it is Han Jian, I would try to capture as much as possible so that I do not miss anything important from Sifu.
The most basic tactic used by school level players is the net and smash combination. This is when the player will do a spinning net shot, or at least one which is close enough to the net to force the opponent to lift, and then smashing it down. I used this plenty of times when I was playing as a child. When combined with a good, powerful smash, it is a sure fire way to get points. And at the school level, as long as the opponent lifts it to the mid or 3 quarters of the court, I can almost guarantee a point.
This combination gets a bit more difficult to execute correctly when the level goes higher. As the players grow stronger, they are able to reach the net shot quicker, so they do not need to always do a high lift. And the players defences also get much better. They will be able to block most smashes coming at them when they reach junior player level around 18 years old. To be able to still get easy points using this combination would require a very very good smash. And, at the highest level, we only see Lee Zii Jia still doing this all the time. Loh Kean Yew has a similar approach earlier, but when he found that his smash could no longer get easy points, he has changed his approach to a more rallying style.
This combination can still work at the highest level, but not as frequently as before. Only when the player is in a position to do a spinning net shot which is extremely close and when the opponent is too far away to reach it early, then the opponent would be forced to play a high lift which does not go deep enough into the court, thus setting up for a smash kill shot from half court or 3 quarter court.
Lee Zii Jia is the only player who defies this logic of play. He does this by putting an excessive amount of power into his stick smash. Stick smashes are steep, but lacks power. What Lee Zii Jia does is to put in a lot of power into it by pulling his body down rapidly, while also pulling his wrist down and turning his body. This excessive force to his stick smash often affects his mobility, and he must win the point when he hits this smash. If it comes back, he will not be in a good position to play the follow up. When he was a bit younger, he could still rush forward after the smash by using extra small steps. As he ages, it is going to get more difficult.
The more variety of kill shots a player has, the more likely the player can land a kill shot. This is simple mathematics. Axelsen has blossomed into such a formidable player due to him not having a preferred kill shot. When he was younger, he also prefers his big, steep smash to win the point. He would try to set it up with either a spinning net shot, or by intercepting lobs which were not high enough. His physical presence with his tall 6′ 4″ frame gives him a huge advantage in intercepting lobs and smashing it down.
Axelsen’s height gives him an immense advantage. He can intercept shots and hit the shuttle down before the shuttle is falling straight down. This allows him to get cleaner hits and have better transfer of power into the shuttle. And with Axelsen’s skill, he can make the shuttle go downwards in a very steep trajectory. He does not rely on power for the kill shot, just the steep trajectory of the smash. I explained the effect of hitting the shuttle when it is coming straight down in one of the training videos which I am reposting it here:
Axelsen’s preferred kill shot of a steep smash can be set up in many ways due to his height. He can for use the net shot and smash combination mentioned earlier. He can intercept lobs or attacking lobs which are not high enough. He can intercept flicks or lifts which are not high enough. With all these options, Axelsen is able to get points from many types of returns, and he uses this to his full advantage. His game play is no longer centred around getting the short lift to smash it down. And so, Axelsen models his game in a way which puts pressure on the opponent by sending all returns in a downward trajectory, and when they are not able to send the return high enough, he can use his kill shot. This tactical approach, his physical presence and not to mention his great skill contributes to his success and longevity. Winning a 3rd Olympic medal and a Gold one at that, at age 31 is an amazing feat!
The image above is from Axelsen’s match against Lei Lan Xi in the China Open Round of 32. This image showcases how Axelsen’s kill shot with his smash is not dependent on power, but steepness and accuracy. When executing his smash, Axelsen does not even pull down his body into the smash. He relies on his body turn and jump to generate the power. And the height from which he hits the shot allows for a very steep trajectory. The shuttle hits the court in the mid court area, and at that distance, the shuttle hits the floor while traveling at a high speed. Axelsen does not need to put more power into the smash. If his smashes were less steep and lands in the 3rd quarter or baseline, then he would need to put in more power for it to get behind the opponent before it lands. Remember, the shuttle slows down very rapidly on the other side of the court.
Axelsen has a nemesis in Momota, perhaps the master of tactical play in recent times. Momota’s preferred kill shot is his cross court smash, but he rarely uses it as his set up play already kills the opponent. I have discussed Momota’s favourite tactic in a previous blog entry, but it is still worth mentioning again. Momota’s preference is that he will only use his kill shot when his opponent is off position and away from the far side of the court. When the opponent is in that position, he will execute his cross court smash and get the point. And Momota often adapts his kill shot based on the opponent. In the 2019 All England final, Momota only used his cross court smash twice, I think. It could be more, but still less than a handful. Momota instead chose to do body smashes against Axelsen.
In this match, Momota uses his usual approach, which is to move the opponent quickly all around the court. He likes to choose an area of attack to keep his opponent pinned to that part of the court. And when the opponent is out of position, in other words, no longer at the centre, he would launch an attack to where the opponent is not positioned to return the shot.
In the All England final of 2019, Momota chose to pin Axelsen to the front of the court by using fast drops, net shots, drives and blocks. When he had to send it high, he opt for high lobs and high lifts as Axelsen could still execute his kill shot on lobs and lifts which were not high enough. As the rally went on, Axelsen started to anticipate Momota’s shots and moved closer to the front, hope to catch Momota with a tap. Whenever Momota sees that, he would send a flick to the back of the court, forcing Axelsen to rush back and often sending a return which is not far enough. When that happens, Momota would be able to use his overheads to attack, but he only does a smash 1 time in 4 overhead shots when he could hit a smash. He would chose a fast drop most of the time. But when Axelsen steps forward a little even when Momota can hit and overhead shot, that is when Momota would hit a body smash. Axelsen is too good for the body smash to win an outright point, but it forces Axelsen to make an imperfect block, and sometimes Momota gets a point when Axelsen’s block goes into the net, or when the block allows Momota to finish it with a tap or push. If Momota can’t kill it then, he would make Axelsen go through his punishing rallies again, until Axelsen tires out.
It is extremely difficult to summarize Momota’s tactics in even 1 entry in a blog. He has such a huge repertoire of plays which he uses. I know I said it before, and I will say it again. Momota’s tactical approach reminds me of how Han Jian does it. Momota targets an area of the court to put pressure on the opponent. He will keep the opponent moving around and keep them guessing, but always moving them to a particular corner. When the opponent tries to anticipate that corner and stray too far away from the centre, then Momota will do his kill shot, which is his cross court smash. But, it is not always the same kill shot as he has shown countless times he is willing to change his favourite kill shot to neutralize his opponent’s strengths. That is what makes Momota such a wonderful player to watch.
There are many YouTubers who oversimplify things and claim the entire match was won with 1 particular move / trick / deception. In a long match, there are 63 points to be won. If 1 player can win by repeating the same move / trick / deception 63 times, his opponent is trash. The most a player can do the same trick in succession is probably 2 times before the opponent counters it.
That’s all for this entry.
Until the next update, eat well, get plenty of rest, and keep the badminton going!
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