2D Key-Event Joint Angles Across Phases of the Badminton Overhead Smash in Elite Colombian Players

Badminton overhead smash performance depends on coordinated whole-body contributions and is often judged qualitatively in applied settings. This study provides a field-based, minimal-equipment description of dominant-side planar joint-angle configurations across five technical phases of the overhead smash using a single lateral high-speed camera. Five elite athletes (men n=4; woman n=1) from the Antioquia Badminton League were recorded at 240 frames·s-¹ during maximal-effort smashes. Phases were defined as preparation (F1), start (F2), acceleration (F3), impact (F4), and termination (F5), with one key-event frame selected per phase. Knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow internal angles were extracted via three-point definitions in Kinovea. Data are reported descriptively (male subgroup as mean±SD and CV%; female case descriptively). The intention is to offer coach-interpretable phase references and to identify phases with higher inter-individual dispersion.

Inclusion criteria

• 5 years of organised badminton experience
• Current Antioquia Badminton League affiliation
• Competitive participation in ≥5 federated tournaments
• Previous selection to a representative team at least at national level
• Able to execute maximal-effort overhead smashes on the testing day

Exclusion criteria

• Pain or musculoskeletal complaints affecting upper limb, trunk, or lower limb on the testing day
• Any condition preventing maximal-effort overhead smashes