Analysis of Visual Fixation between Sub Junior and Junior Badminton Players: The Influence of Visual Fixation on Performance in Sub Junior and Junior Badminton Players

Abstract

The visual fixation is the ability to maintain of the visual gaze on or around a certain point. The fovea of the eyes inculcates this task. It consists of functioning of set of cognitive functioning that decides the selection of apropos and the filtering out of irrelevant visual information from current scene ahead. It is one of the major factors that influence the performance in the wide range of sports. The research was aimed to determine and compare the visual fixation of sub junior and junior badminton players. According to the reviews of the related literature it was hypothesized that junior players would have more number of visual fixations than sub junior badminton players. The experiment was conducted on 16 badminton players (N= 8, in each category). The sub junior and junior player’s age ranged between 10-14 years (mean and SD 12.58 ± 1.68) and 15-18 years (mean and SD 17.00 ± 1.41). Tobii-Pro Glasses 2 was used to count the number of visual fixations while performing 20 forehand drop shots. The players had to attempt shuttles fed by two feeders from the opponent’s court in a random fashion. The study concluded with the result that the junior players tend to have more number of fixates than the sub junior players on the area of opponent’s court. Thus it was seen that the sub junior players had the upper hand during the performance of their strokes because they had more visual information thus in a better position to trap the opponent to force him make a weak return. Due to wider peripheral vision the information gathered from the opponent’s court become easier for the players to execute the appropriate skills at the right place so as to push the opponent for a no or a weak reply.