Effects of Right–Left Smash and Smash–Netting Pattern Drills on Badminton Smash Accuracy: A Two-Group Pretest–Posttest Study

Abstract

Objectives: This study compared the effects of right–left smash pattern drills and smash–netting pattern drills on badminton smash accuracy in adolescent club athletes.

Materials and Methods: A two-group pretest–posttest design was used. Twelve male athletes aged 15–17 years from PB Samudra Binjai were selected purposively and allocated by ordinal pairing to a right–left smash group (n = 6) or a smash–netting group (n = 6). Both groups completed 12 training sessions. Smash accuracy was assessed using the PBSI smash accuracy test. Paired-samples t tests evaluated within-group changes, and an independent-samples t test compared gain scores.

Results: Right–left training increased mean accuracy from 12.00 ± 3.29 to 16.00 ± 1.79 points (mean gain 4.00 ± 1.67; t(5) = 5.86, p = 0.002). Smash–netting training increased the mean from 11.83 ± 2.64 to 17.17 ± 2.23 points (mean gain 5.33 ± 0.82; t(5) = 16.00, p < 0.001). Although the smash–netting group had a larger descriptive gain, the between-group difference in gain scores was not statistically significant (t(10) = 1.75, p = 0.110).

Conclusions: Both drill patterns were associated with significant within-group improvements in smash accuracy. The data did not establish the statistical superiority of either drill. Larger randomized studies with a non-training control, standardized training dosage, and retention testing are needed.