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'Fault' and 'Let' calls in Badminton

During a badminton match, an umpire can call out a Fault or Let depending on the situation.
In this article we will have a look at some common faults during a badminton match that Badminton World Federation (BWF) has written in their Law book.
We will start off with the most common fault we see during a badminton match, i.e Service Fault.
During a serve,
  • Neither side should cause an undue delay once both the server and receiver is ready. This might be caused by the server not completing the stroke in 1 go, & delaying the serve after the backward movement of the racket. It may also be caused by the receiver continuously raising his/her hand, indicating that he isn't ready.
  • Both the server and the receiver must make sure that some part of their feet is in contact with the court while the serve is being delivered. During the delivery of the service (in Doubles), the partners may take up any positions they wish within their respective courts, which do not unsight the opposing server or receiver. 
  • The server should make sure he/she initially hits the base of the shuttle. If the shuttle is missed by the server while serving, it is considered a fault. Now, lets review both the previous and the latest serving rule implemented by BWF. If the previous rule is being followed in a tournament, the whole shuttle shall be below the server’s waist at the instant of being hit by the server’s racket. The waist shall be considered to be an imaginary line around the body, level with the lowest part of the server’s rib. However, the new rule states that the whole of the shuttle shall be below 1.15 meters (115 cm) from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server’s racket. 
Moving forward, let us take a look on the faults after the shuttle has been served by the server.
  • Once the serve is delivered, it must not be hit by the receiver's partner.
  • Shuttle hitting the player, or clothing of the player is a fault.
  • The shuttle should not touch any other object or person outside the court.
  • A shuttle should not be hit twice in succession by the same player. However, a shuttle hitting the head and the stringed area of the racket in one stroke shall not be a fault. 
  • The player should not touch the net, or hit the racket.
  • Player must not invade an opponent's court over the net except that the player may only cross his racket over the net only if the initial contact with the shuttle is on the striker's side of the net.
  • Distracting an opponent by invading his/her court under the net with the racket or deliberately distracting an opponent by any action such as shouting or making gestures is not allowed.
Let is called by the umpire to halt the play. Let is called if:
  • the server serves before the receiver is ready.
  • the server and receiver are both faulted for any reason(s) mentioned above. 
  • the shuttle is caught on the net and remains suspended on the top or after passing over the shuttle is caught in the net.
  • during play, the base completely separates from the rest of the shuttle.
  • a line judge is unsighted and the umpire is unable to make a decision.
When a 'let' is called by the umpire, play since the last service shall not count and the player who served last shall serve again.

Written by: Muhammad Anas Akhtar


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