Ratchanok ‘elegant’ Intanon’s workman shot – the ‘running behind-backhander’ | Badminton News

Balletic, gazelle-like, and deceptive – technically prim and ace at anticipation. Thailand’s wondrous shuttler Ratchanok Intanon is all of these adjectives in her often glorious outings on the court. But she also is a workman’s verb, when needed. Known for her creative point-construction with oodles of graceful movements and her seriously talented wr-work, there is one shot that accumulates her labourer-like work rate. Quite apart from the smooth sedan-like manoeuvres, there is a stroke that demands a labourer’s work-rate when she plays. Proper mazdoori, as they would say in Hindi / Urdu.
It is Ratchanok’s scrambling retrieve, running back with the net receding behind her, chasing a shuttle on her backhand side.
It’s when opponents catch her off-guard, off-position and start dreaming of a precious point packing her off in pursuit to the back-court. Forced to turn away from the net, leave the front court pivot from where she has a sort of Wingardium Leviosa – like sorcery on the bird, Ratchanok is instead forced into scurrying-mode. It is to her enduring credit, that she makes even that scuttering look passably refined.
This last week at the Arctic Open in Finland where she made the finals brushing aside the leading names of the next generation, Ratchanok offered India’s Malvika Bansod a premium seat-view of how she pulls off the back-running backhander. First, demonstrating the laborious retrieve and then highlighting how it’s conspicuously absent in Malvika’s armoury.
In the first set, it was a straightforward exhibition as Malvika smartly and repeatedly tugged Ratchanok to the net, and sent her back the next instance. Malvika was leading 15-14 even against the former World Champion. It’s when Ratchanok would string together 7 points – repeatedly, diligently, sprinting back, fully turned away from the net, catch up with the racing shuttle and strike it with a meaty whippy backhand across the net. Additionally, those clears and tosses travelled at an elevation, and Malvika was drawn back into the rally.

Played to net perfection Ratchanok Intanon 🇹🇭.
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A bunch of skills were at play. The strong wr that dragged the vrooming shuttle back into the parallel plane, the exact striding running back, chunky power on the backhand. And most importantly the ability to get into position for the next return. It doesn’t look as spectacular as the across the body low defense on the backhand. And Malvika did well to get Ratchanok to clock serious running mileage, scrambling her back. But the Indian couldn’t keep her away from taking the opener. On the hard-working shift.
Ratchanok’s determination in chasing down shuttles, the sheer defensive work-rate, is especially underrated because the rest of her classical game is so sublime and easy on the eye. Her deceptive cross drops, the net magic are all made possible because she gets down to the unglamorous run back-scythe the backhand on the move to survive for another day- sort of labour, when opponents out-think her anticipation and yo-yo her along the vertical axis.
Another shuttler who doesn’t shy away from this hardwork is Tai Tzu Ying, and they can both channel the Nadal-spirit, while essentially retaining their Federer essence. Those like Carolina Marin and Yamaguchi are just naturally adept at getting it done.
In the second set, Ratchanok returned the favour. It wasn’t even about Malvika being forced to run back. The Thai simply punched massive holes in the Indian’s terribly under-cultivated backhand game, when the shuttle was struck deep and across, flirting with the backline and corner. The Indian was humbled 21-8.
Malvika lost 9 of those 21 points, barely even reaching the backhand and swivelling in pursuit as the shuttle whizzed past. The back-running backhand is a wickedly difficult skill because even if you reach under the shuttle, mastering control on the stretched bowstring like shot needs immense control. It’s a power shot from a vulnerable position but can easily spray around if you have no control on the whip. Malvika, the few times she reached it, was prone to thwacking it beyond the lines.
The Indian lost a further 4 points when she fended off the backhand from the back court, but was miserably late in reaching the next shuttle that inevitably looped close to the net. So even when she executed the backhand, the reaction, and torquing of the body to reach the next shot for the southpaw proved near impossible. Ratchanok can put both a leftie and rightie to the test with her controlled strokeplay – it’s one reason why at 29, a dozen years after winning a world title and missing out on Olympics, she can still contend for titles.
To put it brutally – Indian women just don’t have the backhand control from the back court. It’s a power-scythe, and Sindhu and Saina strictly made-do on forearm strength. But India’s new generation of women’s singles have a long way to go to master the back running, backhand clear, while staying balanced. It’s a long leveled jab, the next shot is always the sucker punch.