A Danish Wipe in badminton is a type of defensive clearance shot that is played from the backhand wing. It is also known as the Swedish Swish.
The Danish Wipe is a hybrid shot between a lob and a drive. This shot is played from the baseline, that is, the far end of the court. In order to play the Danish Wipe the player has to allow the shuttle to drop to a knee height. After that, the player positions the racquet such that it gets below the shuttle. Then, in a sweeping motion the player lofts the shuttle up and ends the shot with a strong follow-through.
The Danish Wipe results in the shuttle being hurled to the baseline of the opponent’s court. This high defensive clear is played from the backhand wing. It is used against an opponent who prefers to be attacking at the net. When a Danish Wipe is hit, the opponent is made to stay away from the net, thereby not allowing him to play to his or her strengths.
Despite being a skilful technique the Danish Wipe has a lot of disadvantages. Badminton is all about swiftness and footwork. Players have to ensure that their opponents do not get enough time to react. In complete contrast of this central dogma, the Danish Wipe does the complete inverse. It rather allows the shuttle to drop down all the way to knee height. This gives ample time to the opponent to be in a neutral or commanding position.
Another disadvantage of the Danish Wipe is the amount of shots that are missed out on in the process of allowing the shuttle to drop to the knee height. The downward angle of the racquet is usually not preferably as it is not an offensive position. When the birdie is taken on early, the shuttler can remain as the attacker and also refrain the opponent from getting any time.
The origins of the nomenclature of this shot remains obscure. However, the Danish Wipe remains one of the known backhand strokes in badminton.
