The Turkish Badminton Federation (TBF) is turning to technology to sharpen its competitive edge, introducing smart sensors that track athletes’ heart rates in real time to boost match tempo, cut errors and build long-term endurance.
As part of a federation-wide performance initiative, wearable sensors have been distributed to national team players, allowing coaches to closely monitor heart rate data during training sessions.
The data-driven approach is designed around a simple principle: as heart rate rises, error rates increase.
By tailoring workloads and recovery periods, coaches aim to help athletes stay fresh longer and maintain control in high-pressure match situations.
At the National Teams Camp Training Center in Kastamonu, athletic performance coach Bülent Marancı said the project marks a major shift in how Turkish badminton prepares its elite players.
Marancı noted that with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the leadership of federation President Ercan Yıldız, a dedicated High Performance Unit has been established.
Headed by Prof. Dr. Işık Bayraktar, the unit has mapped out a structured plan that includes a total of 30 weeks of training programs scheduled for 2026.
“All of our athletes are now integrated into this technological system,” Marancı said. “They use wearable sensors synced to mobile applications, which allow them to analyze their own performance while giving us the ability to track them remotely. We used this system during tournaments in Istanbul and Bulgaria in October, and the results spoke for themselves: two gold, one silver and one bronze medal.”
National team athletic performance coach Murat Atıl emphasized how technology has accelerated progress in a sport defined by rapid stop-start movements. “Badminton is a game of constant acceleration and deceleration,” Atıl said. “If an athlete can’t recover oxygen efficiently or clear lactic acid quickly, fatigue builds up fast. The sensors help us train recovery just as much as intensity, so athletes can bounce back faster and tire later.”
National player Buğra Aktaş said the system has changed how athletes approach training and match management. “When our heart rate rises during a match, our mistake rate goes up,” he said. “These devices show us exactly where we are, so we can manage time, rhythm and effort more intelligently.”
Fellow national team member Sinem Yıldız added that the technology has made training more conscious and purposeful. “We’re focusing on increasing oxygen capacity, and these tools really help,” she said. “It’s a big step forward for our performance.”
