Correlation of Upper Limb Explosive Power with Smash Velocity and Performance in Badminton Players: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Badminton is a popular Olympic game played in different age groups with different levels of skills. Various techniques of strokes are used by the players. Smashing is one of the offending and powerful stroke techniques used in badminton to defeat the opponent player. Various components of fitness like speed, agility, flexibility, endurance, and power plays an important role in an athlete’s performance and Upper limb explosive power is one such component that is utilized for a better stroke performance. Aim: To find the correlation of upper limb explosive power with smash velocity and performance in badminton players. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study including a total of 100 participants by convenient sampling was conducted in Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad, Haryana, India, from September 2017 to March 2019. Out of 100 players, only 85 participants (60 male and 25 female) completed the study. The participants were assessed for Upper Limb Explosive Power (ULEP), Smash Velocity and accuracy. Data analysis was performed using the Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient (p-value≤0.05). Results: Significant positive correlation was obtained for ULEP with smash velocity and of accuracy with smash velocity with a value of r-value=0.0414 and r-value=0.468 respectively. Conclusion: The smash velocity of badminton players is related to upper limb explosive power and accuracy.