The importance of lifting to the rear of the court…
The linked research article shows the physics behind how much a shuttle slows down when smashed – its speed halves for every 3.35m it travels!
Eric Collet 2026 Phys. Scr. 101 125007
The time-of-flight increases by about 50% for a smash from a range of 11.5m compared to a range of 10m.
Also, since nylon shuttles deform more when smashed, their speed is much greater than feather shuttles.