How to win in Doubles !
In doubles play, the tactic is to serve low so that the serving side would not be placed in a defensive position. If you are serving low, take position on the front and part of the mid-court area immediately. Your partner shall then cover the back court. This is known as the Attacking Formation (Front-Back).
You can also use the flick serve to prevent your opponent from rushing to the net. But you and your partner will have to take up a defensive position standing side by side. This is known as the Defensive Formation (side-side).
When you defend, try to hit the shuttle deep into your opponent's court. This is to prevent your opponent in the front position intercepting the shuttle from mid to front court.
When a chance presents itself, push or drive the shuttle to the area in between your opponents. Or make a return to the front court of your opponents, forcing them to lift the shuttle.
In this instance, the player who played that shot will have to take up the front position immediately while the partner takes the back. An attacking formation shall be formed. If you are taking the back position, your aim is to make shots that can create openings for your partner to 'kill' in the front court.
In short, doubles is a game of speed, aggression, and agility, where each side has two players. Both sides will try to gain and maintain the attack, hitting downwards as much as possible. Usually one player will strive to stay at the back of the court and the other at the front, which is an optimal attacking position: the back player will smash and occasionally drop the shuttlecock to the net, and the front player will try to intercept any flat returns or returns to the net.
How to win in Singles !
Players will serve high to the far back end of the court, although at the international level low serves are now frequently used as well. The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same length. Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based on forcing the opponent to move as much as possible; this means that singles shots are normally directed to the corners of the court. The depth of the court is exploited by combining clears (high shots to the back) with drops (soft downwards shots to the front).
Smashing is less prominent in singles than in doubles because players are rarely in the ideal position to execute a smash, and smashing out of position leaves the smasher very vulnerable if the shot is returned.
At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness. It is a game of patient tactical play, unlike the all-out aggression of doubles.
Sources: www.badminton-information.com & www.articlesbase.com