The Importance of Mental Toughness In the game of Badminton

Many Badminton players are good in the physical aspect but not tough enough mentally. A badminton player can have all the fitness, power, agility and skills but without the presence of mental toughness, he or she can be affected mentally anytime, anywhere.

Marathon runners are good examples. Normally most of the marathon runners reach their stamina limits in the last 12 KM over 42 KM. But their strong mental ability allows them to keep running at the same pace to finish the race. Some runners even increase their speed to finish the race although they are already exhausted. Marathon runners call this method ‘hitting the wall’, meaning pushing to the limit. Even the legendary Tan Yee Khan of Malaysia uses the method of ‘hitting the wall ’. This method should be applied by badminton players who aspire to go one step further in the game. Whether it is during the game or training, players should keep focusing and pushing their body to the limit. A match could take a rather long time to end. A good badminton player or in other words an ‘established badminton player ’will not go down without a fight and should be able to keep their pace and the accuracy of their shots until the very last point in the game no matter how long they have played. This is where mental toughness plays a big role.

You can be a very skillful player and fit player but if you meet an opponent who has a much higher level of stamina and fighting spirits, you will very likely lose the match if without the ability to push yourself when you are exhausted. There are plenty of instances whereby players are not strong enough mentally and emotionally, lost focus because of tiredness and gave up easily in the game.