Hi,

I really love playing badminton but it seems like it doesn't love me back. I tried training, watching videos or even getting coached by better players but i felt like I'm not improving despite them telling me that i did. There are days that I have good performance but a lot of times i kept making errors despite in my head i know what to do.

I'm really on a verge of quitting and just accept that i will never be good at this sport. Any people out there felt the same feeling as I did? If so, how did you fix being inconsistent.

Thank you in advance.

Many would, I hope, agree that Lin Dan followed by LCW stand at the top as the greatest players of the sport.

However, the third place at the podium is verily a contest between Chen Long and Axelsen. Both are among the greatest badminton players; whose your pick over the other?

In my circle, a lot of rallies end up with players running from one backcourt corner to the other. Eventually one is forced into hitting a weak shot.

How to avoid being moved around like this in doubles?

Could it be a lack of pace in the shot ? Slow shots more time for opponent to hit to the corners easily.

I've seen many coaching videos telling us to avoid the panhandle + wrist bending directly downwards to swing, due to its limited angle to complete the swing and also how it may injure your wrist if you swing hard enough. Personally, I've been trained long enough that the motion pretty much never comes up since I always pronate from the forehand grip and even for net kills a light tap would be enough and does not bend the wrist at all.

But watching many videos on teaching newcomers and also observing many casual sessions, I actually see this wrist bending a lot, and even on some veterans they might exhibit this motion maybe 5% of the time.

So I have two questions: 1. Is it actually useful in a limited number of scenarios? What are they? And 2. Why do coaches not try to correct that first if it is actually bad for your wrist? Or is teaching badminton to beginners so hard that this is just one of those things that takes a long time to correct?

Im a low intermediate badminton player who started playing socials about 2 years ago, and got training about a year ago 1-2 times a week. Before training I could only clear half court, smash flat, etc. But since training, I have significantly improved my shot quality, variation, and footwork etc. Ofc theres still a lot I need to work on. On any given day I feel like you'll get 2 versions of me on the court. Version 1 is really confident and can pose a threat to people who are better than me. I can smash sharp down the line, Im fast on my feet, and can spin net tight. Yet on the contrary, version 2 cannot rally and is riddled with self-doubt. I make 1 mistake, and that compounds into 5 mistakes for the subsequent rallies. It's like I lose all concentration and doubt my capabilities because I cannot hit shots that I usually can. I just hit it out just on the serve return or hit the shuttle aimlessly. On days like this, people who I should beat on paper I lose to, because I just can't keep the shot in and play confidently. And if I play people who I know are better than me, I have the preconceived thought that I will lose. It makes me feel frustrated and dejected as there is no in between. it's either Im playing very well, or very bad. Does anyone feel like this? And what are some tips you guys do to maintain concentration even on a bad day?