Junior Badminton Players: Age & Sex Differences in Physical Traits

Introduction:

In badminton, anthropometric characteristics and physical capacities are essential to meet playing demands across ages and sexes. The objective of this study was to investigate age- and sex-related differences in anthropometric characteristics and physical capacities among highly trained junior badminton players, focusing on differences between (i) under (U) 13, U15, and U17 age groups, and (ii) sexes within each age group.

Materials and methods:

Sixty-two Indonesian highly trained junior badminton players were tested over two sessions for body height, weight, fat mass, and body mass index (BMI), as well as balance, reaction time, hand grip strength, counter movement jump (CMJ) height, linear and non-linear sprint times, and anaerobic sprint and multistage fitness test performances. Traditional (one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests) and alternative statistical approaches (magnitude-based inferences) as well as effect size (ES) calculations were applied for statistical analysis.

Results:

Regarding age-related differences, in males, U17 players had a statistically significant and most likely higher BMI (p = 0.001; ES = very large), as well as statistically significant and most likely superior CMJ height, linear sprint performance, fatigue index, and relative peak power than the U13 players (p ≤ 0.003; ES = large to very large). In females, U17 players had a statistically significant and most likely higher BMI and body fat mass (p ≤ 0.002; ES = large to very large), as well as statistically significant and very likely inferior non-linear sprint performance and relative peak power than the U13 players (p ≤ 0.005; ES = large). For sex-related differences, in U17 and U15 players, males had a statistically significant and most likely lower body fat mass (p = 0.001; ES = very large), as well as statistically significant and most likely superior linear sprint performance and relative peak power than females (p = 0.001; ES = large to extremely large).

Conclusion:

This study shows that anthropometric characteristics and anaerobic capacities differ by age and sex, whereas aerobic capacity is similar among Indonesian highly trained junior badminton players. These findings can support training, testing, and talent identification to help develop highly trained juniors into world-class badminton players.