THE IMPACT OF CARBOHYDRATE LOADING ON ENDURANCE AND AGILITY IN PAKISTANI BADMINTON PLAYERS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the effects of a 3-day carbohydrate-loading intervention on sport-specific performance measures in competitive badminton athletes, with a particular focus on gender-specific responses. Research Methodology: Conducted a randomized controlled trial with thirty-two competitive badminton players (16 male, 16 female; age 21.4±1.9 years) who were recruited from provincial training squads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Participants were stratified by gender and randomly assigned to either: (1) an experimental Group implementing a 3-day carbohydrate-loading protocol (8-10g/kg/day), or (2) a control group maintaining habitual dietary patterns. Performance assessments included the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (endurance) and standardized T-test (agility), administered pre- and post-intervention by blinded assessors. Results: The experimental group significantly improved their Yo-Yo intermittent test performance by 20.3% (Δ=260m, p < 0.001, d = 1.32) compared to the control group, which showed a 4.0% improvement (p = 0.214), demonstrating enhanced endurance capacity. Agility T-test performance also improved significantly (6.0% reduction, p=0.003, d=0.89) versus minimal change in controls (0.4%, p=0.872). Mixed ANOVA revealed significant time × group interactions for both Yo-Yo (F=19.53, p<0.001, ηp²=0.413) and T-test (F=9.67, p=0.013, ηp²=0.259) measures. No gender differences in intervention responsiveness were observed (p>0.05 for all comparisons) (p>0.05 for all gender comparisons). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that short-term carbohydrate loading effectively enhances both endurance and agility performance in competitive badminton players, with comparable benefits observed across genders. The results support the incorporation of targeted carbohydrate periodization into badminton training programs, particularly during competition preparation phases.

Keywords: Sports Nutrition, Glycogen Super-Compensation, Racket Sports, Exercise Performance, Gender Differences, Anaerobic Capacity