Multisensory training enhances anticipation skills in badminton novices

In racket sports like badminton, accurately predicting shot timing and spatial positioning allows athletes to better interpret opponents' intentions and respond quickly. Perceptual-cognitive training focused on visual cues can enhance these anticipatory skills. However, anticipation based on both visual and auditory information are generally more accurate than those relying solely on visual cues, suggesting the need to explore the benefits of integrated audio-visual Perceptual-cognitive training. This study investigated the effects of different perceptual-cognitive training protocols on anticipation performance in badminton novices. Participants were divided into four groups: a visual training group (receiving only visual cues during training), an audio-visual training group (receiving both visual and auditory cues), a audio-visual blurred training group (receiving degraded visual and auditory cues), and a control group (watching match videos without specific training) to underwent six training sessions over two weeks. Anticipation performance was assessed using a computer-based task, a high-cognitive-load task (requiring simultaneous digit discrimination), a simulated motor task (involving physical movement to respond), and a real-competition video task. Results showed: (1) Training groups improved in anticipation accuracy, with no such improvement in the control group; (2) Under high cognitive load and simulated motor tasks, the visual training group improved the most, followed by the visual-auditory group, and then the blurred training group. The visual training group also performed better in visual-auditory conditions compared to visual conditions; (3) Improvements were sustained for two weeks. This accuracy improvement is likely because the training protocols, particularly visual training, facilitated action representation by integrating visual and auditory cues based on Event Coding Theory, and guided discovery feedback optimized participants' information search towards critical anticipatory cues. The study concludes that presenting visual cues during the anticipation phase, combined with guided discovery using audio-visual feedback during the feedback phase, optimize skill acquisition and retention. This approach may have broader applications in other sports or training environments where rapid decision-making and predictive accuracy are essential.