No. 1: "The Net Game" - the straight net shot by Lars Sologub, British Olympic Performance Director

"The net game is crucial to modern badminton and it is worth taking some time to perfect. In my view the most important aspect of technique is the lunge - in fact, it's all in the LUUUUNGE. My opinion is that the main technical aspects of playing the shot are:

OBJECTIVE:

The aim is to get the shuttle back into court and secondly to trap your opponent down low 'under the net' (see Chen Hong, pictured) so that he is forced to lift the shuttle up and short giving you the chance to attack.

Remember that making the shuttle tumble looks good but it will be of no advantage if it takes the shuttle out of court or pushes the shuttle so far into court that it becomes easy for the opponent to retrieve.

KEY TIP:

The lunge is the key point in my view and as a coach working in my second language I tend to emphasise in a way that my players never forget! "Remember", I say, "when you perform this technique you don't just lunge, you "LUU--------UNGE", and everyone has a good laugh.

TECHNIQUE:

The best method is to approach the net and the lunge aggressively. The racket leg should act as a brake to your movement in the last stride (see Richard Vaughan). This will generate the force necessary to produce the stroke with very little racket head movement.

You must reach out and take the shuttle as early as possible (as shown by Elena Nozdran) making it safer to get the shuttle over the net and back into play as close to the net on the other side as possible.

The racket face should be parallel with the floor when the shot is played (see Dai Yun). The way you grip the racket handle for this shot is to hold it lightly in the fingers rather than tightly in the palm of your hand. The thing to do is to experiment with your grip to make the racket face parallel with the floor.

Remember any angle on the racket face will compromise the shot. If the racket head is pointing down at all towards the the floor then the shuttle will either be pushed into the net or too deep into the court making it easier for your opponent to return.

The actions I have mentioned should impart some spin on the shuttle causing it to 'tumble'. To increase the tumble action move the racket head slightly in an 'outer' motion (i.e. if you are playing a forehand move the racket face towards the outside of the court). For maximum effect you can also lift the racket head slightly on impact at the same time.

IN PRACTICE:

Work with a friend to practice the technique. The feeder should stand on the service line and feed shuttles to the net both underarm and overarm in order to mimic how the shuttle will be played to the net in a game. To begin with, work on perfecting the technique before speeding the routine up.

Always remember - racket face parallel to the floor, use a small outer face racket motion and LUUUUNGE!