little-known fact about badminton is that it demands high fitness levels from its players in

addition to agility, speed and accuracy. Introduction of badminton at the Olympics added to its
appeal. Read on to find out about the history of badminton. Learn more about the various
badminton tournaments organized the world over.

History of Badminton

The history of badminton shows that it had its roots in an old children’s game in England known
as battledore and shuttlecock. British Army officers in India played a grown up version of this
game. Known in its early days as ‘poona’, it was played with many people who tried to keep the
‘bird’ in air. A net came to be added later and badminton in its present form was born. This sport
derived its name from Badminton House in Gloucestershire where the game was played at a
lawn party. The International Badminton Federation (IBF) that was started in 1934 now has more
than 130 member countries. The Asian countries now dominate the badminton scene and they
continue to rule the roost as far as tournaments go. Badminton matches draw thousands of
spectators in Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

Badminton in the U.S. began as a weekend meeting place for New York’s society leaders with
the formation of the Badminton Club of New York in 1878. Clubs and YMCAs and educational
institutions began to offer training in badminton. Several Hollywood personalities like James
Cagney, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were avid badminton players. The United States
Badminton Association (USBA) has its national office in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This body
focuses on promoting badminton within the country and developing players.

Badminton – Little Known Facts

A badminton shuttle has known to clock in excess of 180 mph. Did you know that the best
badminton shuttle is one that is made from the feathers from the left wing of a goose?.
Badminton players need to possess quick response and agility. With badminton matches lasting
even up to a couple of hours, it is little wonder that badminton players need to have rigorous
training to build up stamina and concentration. In addition, quick reflexes and rapid hand-eye
coordination are a prerequisite for any aspiring badminton player. Badminton, unlike most other
racquet sports does not use a ball but a shuttlecock that cannot touch the ground during a rally.

Look at these amazing statistics comparing a badminton match with a tennis match. Badminton
provides a vigorous cardiovascular workout for the player. In fact, the Department of Physical
Education at Baylor University describes it as ‘one of the finest conditioning game activities
available’. A statistical comparison reveals the following:

Tennis Badminton
Time duration: 3 hours 18 minutes 1 hour 16 minutes
Ball/Shuttle in play: 18 minutes 37 minutes
Match intensity: 9% 48%
Shots: 1004 1972
Shots per rally: 3.4 13.5
Distance covered: 2 miles 4 miles
Badminton Rule

The badminton rule regarding the shuttle is that it can be made from natural, synthetic or a
combination of both materials. The badminton shuttle is a combination of a few bird feathers, a
wooden cork, string and glue. It must have 16 feathers fixed in the base. Test a shuttle using a
full underhand stroke. The badminton racket also must conform to the badminton rulebook. A
badminton racket is usually made from hickory carbon alloys or steel. The badminton game rally
is aimed at hitting the shuttle over the net onto the opponent’s court. You lose the rally by either
hitting outside the opponents court or hitting the shuttle into the net or even if the shuttle touches
you or your clothing. The badminton rule allows you to accumulate points until you have
reached the winning target before your opponent. The attacking and defensive factors are crucial
to win a badminton game. The attacking game attempts to increase your chance of accumulating
points. The defensive game aims at decreasing the opponent’s chance of accumulating points.
The badminton rulebook prescribes the following scoring system:

 A match shall consist of the best of 3 games unless otherwise arranged.

 In doubles and men’s singles, the first side to score 15 points wins a game.
 In ladies’ singles, the first side to score 11 points wins the game.
 The side winning a game serves first in the next game.
 The badminton rule for scoring is that the serving side can add a point to its score.

Badminton Court - Badminton Court Size

The American Badminton Association recommends a ground space of about 1620 square feet for
a badminton court size. The Singles badminton court is 17’ X 44’ whereas a doubles court is 20’
X 44’. There should be a minimum 5’ unobstructed area on all sides of the badminton court. The
recommended surface for a badminton court is concrete or bituminous material. The badminton
court can be optionally protected with a color coating if it is a permanent installation. The
badminton court must be leveled and smooth but not slippery. The badminton court net can be
made of fine cord of dark color and even thickness. The specifications for the badminton court
net are that it should have a mesh of not less than 15 mm and not more than 20 mm. The net
must be at least 6.1 meters wide.

Badminton Lesson Plan

Any badminton lesson plan begins with serving. Aiming a good serve is vital – you need to
either aim for the opponent’s backhand side of the service area or serve it short just over the net.
Hold the badminton racket as if you were shaking hands with it. The doubles service needs short
and accurate serving.

Nimble footwork is also a key focal point of any badminton lesson plan. It is vital to cover all
corners of the court with minimal steps. A fast drop that is well placed can put the opponent
under pressure. Making the opponent run back and forth on the court is another good badminton
lesson plan.
Any badminton lesson plan needs to be adapted to suit your fitness levels. Extending your rally
is a good strategy if your fitness level is superior to that of your opponent. This type of game
hinges on your opponent making a mistake. In contrast, if you are facing an opponent with better
fitness levels, you can resort to accuracy and consistency to control the pace of the game. Timing
is another crucial area that any badminton lesson plan needs to address. It can make the
difference between making and missing the match.

Badminton at the Olympics

Badminton made an entry on the Olympic scene in 1992. All eyes are now trained on the coming
Summer Olympics at Athens. The last Olympics saw China leading the Badminton medals tally
followed by Indonesia and Korea. In fact, the Chinese badminton squad swept the men’s singles
and women’s doubles and made Olympic history by earning the gold, silver and bronze. They
romped home with eight medals at the 2000 Olympics.

Badminton China Open

The China Open Badminton Championships 2007 was held at Guangzhou in the P. R. of China
from November 20 – 25 2007. The Badminton China Open this year was marked by the
dominance of Chinese women who took most of the medals

Top seeded Men’s Singles Players

1 BAO Chunlai China

2 Chong Wei LEE Malaysia
3 Sung Hwan PARK Korea

Top seeded Women’s Singles Players

Mew Choo
1 Malaysia
WONG
2 Xingfang XIE China
3 Lan LU China

Badminton Tournaments

It was in the 1980s that badminton became a professional sport when the IBF started the World
Grand Prix Circuit. The USBA Classic Series is the premier badminton tournament in the U.S.
wherein players compete in five regional tournaments.

Thomas Cup

The first Thomas Cup tournament was held in 1949 at Queen’s Hall in Preston. Late Sir George
Thomas was the founder president of the IBF. The Cup has stayed with 3 Asian countries since
its inaugural match – Indonesia, Malaysia and China. This badminton tournament is held every
two years. The Thomas Cup is played over the best of five matches over one day.
Uber Cup

The Uber Cup was held in Lancashire in Britain as an alternative to the Thomas Cup in the
Women’s category. U.S.A, Japan, China and Indonesia have retained the Uber Cup between
themselves in all these years

Badminton Club

Badminton is played as a recreational and professional sport. A badminton club is the ideal place
to begin your initiation into the sport. Most educational institutions and private clubs offer
badminton coaching. A coach at the badminton club can guide with the right techniques to get
your game going. Regular family memberships are also offered at many a badminton club.
Badminton is an excellent aerobic sport that can enhance your fitness levels and provide you and
your family a recreational activity.

Rules

Field of play

Matches are played on a court that is 6.1m wide and 13.4m long, with specific markings for
singles and doubles matches. The playing area for singles matches is slightly narrower than the
full court at a width of 5.18m, but the playing area for doubles matches uses the full dimensions
of the court. The court is divided into two equal halves by a net attached to the posts at a height
of 1.55 m.

Umpires and judges

An umpire, aided by a service judge and 10 line judges, presides over a badminton match. Before
the beginning of the contest, the umpire flips a coin. The winning athlete or doubles pair has
three options: choose its side of the court, choose to serve first or choose to receive first.

Matches

Matches are fought on a ‘best of three’ basis, with the winner being the first to win two games.
Recent changes to the rules means all games are played to 21 points, but a game has to be won
by a player or pair having two clear points over their opponent. If this isn’t the case, there’s an
option to continue play up to 29 points, at which time there’s a sudden-death playoff for the final
30th point.

Serving
Unlike in tennis, serves in badminton have to be made from below the waist – i.e. underhand
rather than overhand – and the player’s feet must be touching the ground. Serves must be made
from an area defined by the centreline and the serving lines on the court. They are made
diagonally towards their opponent, alternating between the right and left-hand side of the court
as points are scored.

Scoring

To score a point, a player or pair has to hit the shuttlecock over the net with their racquet so that
it lands in their opponent’s playing area. Points are lost if the shuttlecock hits the net, lands
outside the court’s boundaries, or if a player commits a fault such as striking the shuttlecock or
net with part of their body or hitting the shuttlecock twice.

Previously, only the holder of the serve could win points. If they lost a rally, they would lose the
serve and their opponent would have the opportunity to try and win a point. This could make
matches long and drawn-out, though. Under the new system either the server or non-server can
score points, with the next serve being made by whoever scored the last point.

Breaks

Between each game, there is a two-minute break for players, with a mid-game break of 60
seconds when the first player or pair reaches 11 points.

Tied games

The first player or pair to reach 21 points wins a game, but they must have a two-point margin
over their opposition. If the score for a game reaches 20-20, then play continues until one side
has the two-point advantage. If the score goes all the way up to 29-29, the winner is the first to
reach 30 points.

Techniques

The best strategy for badminton is to make your opponent work harder than you, using a mix of
long, short, high and low shots to get them reacting to your moves. Powerful strokes, such as the
‘clear’ send the shuttlecock to the back of the court, ‘drop’ shots fake a slow pass just over the
top of the net, while defensive ‘lift’ shots put the shuttlecock into the air prompting the use of the
most decisive shot – the ‘smash’. In this, the player jumps to meet the shuttlecock mid-air,
smashing it down into their opponent’s court, giving them little time to react.