How to Overcome Nervousness in Badminton

Before a badminton player begins a match, he or she may seem to be steady and calm.

But as the time draws nearer to enter the court, nervousness begin to sip in and all of a sudden the player feels unconfident.

The time that was used for the strenuous hours of training suddenly seemed insufficient to take on their opponents. Nervousness begins to take over all emotions and players begin to tell themselves that they are going to lose a match which they have yet to begin.

Everything seems to be all going wrong at this point of time. But this is a normal behavior. It is perfectly normal to feel this way when a player is about to begin his first match in a competition, especially if it's the first competition that he or she is participating.

Being nervous in a game can cost a player to lose it. When a player feels nervous, he or she cannot be able to perform at his peak. Strokes cannot be delivered and unforced errors begin to happen. The heart beats faster than usual and players begin to feel tired very quickly compared to his normal training sessions.

All this are because of jittery nerves. Ever feel yourself in this position before? Well…there are a few things that you can do to reduce such nervousness in a badminton game.


1. Do not give up and don't tell yourself that you are going to lose when the game has not even started.

2. Be confident in yourself. Do not let the opponent's reputation instill fear in you. If he/she is more popular in the badminton circle, this should inspire you more to win him as you have no pressure at all because you are the underdog.

3. Prepare yourself mentally and think of what your strengths are the night before the competition. This is to boost your own confidence and let you focus on the strengths that you have to beat and overcome your opponent.

4. Always concentrate on the game and not what others say. Do not let others influence you by saying that it is impossible to win someone who is greater than you. Nothing is impossible in this world.

5. Be determined of what you want to achieve the moment you step into the court. Be sure of the goals that you want and work towards it!

6. Do something that you can relax to before the game starts. Such as listening to some music that can calm and soothe your nerves or laughing and joking around with your friends.

Sometimes being nervous inside a badminton court is not exactly bad. Not all bad things are bad as you can change negative influences to positive ones. It is the way you look at things.

Being nervous sometimes gives a person that extra adrenaline rush which can lead to their victory, but if a player is unable to manage those nerves and give in to it, half the battle will already be lost before it has even started.

Being nervous before a game is something everyone has to go through in life when they play their first competition. Cold sweat and cold palms are alright.

It is impossible to eliminate nervousness each time we step into the court for a match. To improve is not how you eliminate nervousness, but it is how well you manage it and how you use it to help yourself.