This week during training, we were working on strengthening Fred’s movement to the baseline. While Fred has learnt the footwork for reverse and he does it in a way which is what is decribed in this website, his efficiency with the movement still not there yet. There is a lot of areas for improvement there, and as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Let’s discuss.

For the discussion today, I will be diving into the match between Chen Long and Kento Momota in the Denmark Open in 2019. This video is available to be viewed in full, thanks to BWF. I will be putting in timestamps so that we can go to the video and scroll to the time of that movement so that you can all see what I am talking about.

In this match, it is about the efficiency of movement of 2 of the best players at that time. Kento Momota was at his peak, and Chen Long too was near his peak. Both have fantastic footwork and is super efficient. And that was what made this match such a fine speciment for analysis. The movement which we are diving deeper into today is the 2 step reverse to the forehand side, and its subtle variations.

For the first case, Chen Long reverses to his forehand side. He was not under pressure as Momota sent a high lob which was traveling slowly. This happened at 10:12 into the video. As Chen Long had the luxury of time, he took 2 big steps to reach the shuttle. The first step was done with a turn and provided the distance needed, and the second step was a smaller one which moved him into the right position to hit the shot.

The next case happened at 11:32 into the video. Chen Long was hunting for a net kill after putting the shuttle to the net. Momota went in and lifted the shuttle to the back. Because Chen Long’s starting position was at the front service line, he had more distance to cover. Typically, from that position, a player would take 1 step to return to the centre, and then 2 steps to move to the back. As Chen Long’s starting position was off centre, he had to combine the move into a 3 steps reverse. The first step was a turn, and it was followed by another 2 steps. These steps were not small steps, but they were smaller than the usual big step as Chen Long pushed himself to move faster. The distance covered is not the 2 extreme corners of the court, so Chen Long can cover the distance using 3 smaller steps.

The third case happened at 14:04 in the video. Chen Long was under a bit of pressure as Momota hit a low and fast lift to the corner. Chen Long turned and took a big first step which gave him distance. But because Momota’s lift was so good and it was reaching for the extreme corner, Chen Long took another big step to reach the shuttle. In this case, Chen Long had to take 2 big steps to reach the shuttle from the centre.

Now, let’s look at Momota’s movement. Momota has been known for his fantastic footwork. We will examine his footwork and compare it with Chen Long’s footwork.

The first case for Momota’s footwork happened at 32:28 in the video. In this rally he had to keep returning to his forehand corner as Chen Long was putting pressure on his forehand side. Momota takes a huge first step with a body turn to provide the distance needs to move back. And because his first step is so good, he only had to take a much smaller second step to adjust himself to hit the shuttle.

What is more amazing is the Momota’s starting position was at the front service line. He was taking up a position to attack any net shot which may come from Chen Long. Chen Long saw that, and decided to flick. The flick was a good and fast one, but Momota’s coverage was so good that he made the flick look like a high clear. Momota’s speed also allowed him to intercept the shuttle higher and earlier, and that puts the pressure back on Chen Long.

The second case for Momota happened at 34:00 in the video. This time Momota is at the centre of the court, and Chen Long did a low flick to Momota’s forehand side. Chen Long delayed his shot to throw Momota off, hoping that the delay would make Momota mistime his split step, forcing him to scramble to readjust his footwork and create an opening for Chen Long to attack. Unfortunately for Chen Long, that did not happen.

Momota delayed his split step as well. If you listen closely at this time when Momota did his split step, you will hear the rubber of his shoes making a loud squeak on the court. Momota delayed his split step and did not move, waiting for Chen Long to hit first. When Chen Long did hit, Momota use his weaker leg, his right, to adjust his body and turn immediately. This quick adjustment is what caused the loud squeaking sound. That transitioned into the first big step moving back, and Momota continued with a smaller big step to get into position to hit the return.

At this point in the match, Chen Long was throwing a lot of delays and deceptions at Momota, hoping to turn the tide in the rally and get an advantage to attack. But Momota with his supreme footwork just did not falter. Whatever Chen Long did, Momota adjusted his footwork and went on with his business. He just kept moving the shuttle faster and faster until Chen Long could not keep up.

In our training this weekend, this was the lesson which Fred needs to learn. He needs to be able to adjust his split step and the big steps he is taking to reverse. Without that adjustment, he is susceptible to delays, deceptions and changes of pace.

During rally practice, I changed the pace of the hit and made the shuttle fly either faster or slower than the previous shot. Fred failed to adjust his footwork, and ended mishitting the shuttle, which led to a half court return, or the shuttle going out. Fred will need to learn to put extra power into the first step with the turn. This will allow him to get the distance needed. After than, he can use a second smaller step to get into position to hit. Like how Momota does it.

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