|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground, and each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net.
 |
The shuttlecock (or shuttle) is a feathered projectile whose unique aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently from the balls used in most racquet sports; in particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly than a ball. Shuttlecocks have a much higher top speed, when compared to other racquet sports. Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind, competitive badminton is best played indoors. Badminton is also played outdoors as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach game.
Since 1992, badminton has been an Olympic sport with five events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair is a man and a woman. At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed and precision. It is also a technical sport, requiring good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements.
|
According to Jean-Yves Guillain, the author of Badminton, an Illustrated History, the first traces of a game involving the use of a shuttlecock can be found in Asia, and specifically in China. It supposedly has its origins in T’su-chü, a Football game created 2,500 years BCE at the time of the legendary Huang-Di in order to improve the skills of soldiers fighting Chi-You, the leader of the Miao people. In Japan, the related game Hanetsuki was played as early as the 16th century. In the west, badminton came from a game called battledore and shuttlecock, in which two or more players keep a feathered shuttlecock in the air with small racquets.
 |
The modern form of Badminton however can be traced to India, where British military officers stationed there in the late 19th century became interested in a similar local game which was known to them as Poona (derived from Pune, an Indian garrison town).This game was taken back to England where the rules of badminton were set out.Another early version of the game was recorded in the 1850s in the southern Indian city of Tanjore, called pooppanthu vilayattam (Tamil for flower-ball game) in which balls made of wool and cardboard were used in the place of the modern-day shuttlecock.
Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, Badminton Battledore - a new game in 1860, but unfortunately no copy has survived.
The new sport was definitively launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire, owned by the Duke of Beaufort. During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became Badminton.
Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations were drawn up in 1887.In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.
While set-out in England, competitive badminton in Europe has traditionally been dominated by Denmark. Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades and dominated competitions on the international level, with China being the most dominant in recent years. |
The following information is a simplified summary of the Laws, not a complete reproduction. The definitive source of the Laws is the BWF Statutes publication, although the digital distribution of the Laws contains poor reproductions of the diagrams.
Playing court dimensions
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although the laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are the same length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.
The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres (6.5 ft) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.78 metres (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.
The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.
There is no mention in the Laws of Badminton of a minimum height for the ceiling above the court. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.
Equipment laws
The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the Laws restrict the design and size of racquets and shuttlecocks. The Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:
3.1
To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.
3.2
A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line.
Scoring system and service
The basics
Each game is played with 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally (this differs from the old system, where players could only win a point on their serve). At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he changes service courts so that he serves to each opponent in turn. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves.
Details
In less formal settings, the coin toss is often replaced by hitting a shuttlecock into the air: whichever side the corked end points will be the side that serves first.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. If one team wins a game they play once more and if they win again they win that match, but if they lose they play one more match to find the winning team. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair's score reaches 11 points.
The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock.
Faults
Players win a rally by striking the shuttlecock over the net and onto the floor within the boundaries of their opponents' court. Players also win a rally if their opponents commit a fault. Several faults pertain specifically to service. A serving player shall be faulted if the shuttlecock is above his waist (defined as his lowest rib) at point of contact, or if his racket's head is not pointing downwards at the moment of impact. Neither the server nor the receiver may lift a foot until the server has struck the shuttlecock. A player may not, however, hit the shuttlecock once and then hit it with a new movement, nor may he carry and sling the shuttlecock on his racket.
It is a fault if the shuttlecock hits the ceiling.
Lets
If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the shuttlecock, he shall be judged to have been ready.
There is no let if the shuttlecock hits the tape (even on service).
|
To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to return.
Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many different strokes that look identical, and use slicing to deceive their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke. If an opponent tries to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong direction and may be unable to change his body momentum in time to reach the shuttlecock.
Doubles
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing downwards when possible. Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an ideal attacking formation with one player hitting down from the rearcourt, and his partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash returns except the lift. If a pair cannot hit downwards, they will use flat strokes in an attempt to gain the attack. Flick serves are used to prevent the opponent from anticipating the low serve and attacking it decisively.
At high levels of play, doubles rallies are extremely fast. Men's doubles is the most aggressive form of badminton, with a high proportion of powerful jump smashes.
Singles
The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same length, with the exception that a serve in the single can reach the end of the court while a serve in the doubles could not. Smashing is less prominent in singles than in doubles because players are rarely in the ideal position to execute a smash, and smashing often leaves the smasher vulnerable if the smash is returned.
In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high serve. At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness.
Mixed doubles
As a result, mixed doubles requires greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play. At high levels of play, the formations will generally be more flexible: the top women players are capable of playing powerfully from the rearcourt, and will happily do so if required. When the opportunity arises, however, the pair will switch back to the standard mixed attacking position, with the woman in front.
|
| Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
| China |
51 |
21 |
28 |
| United States |
36 |
38 |
36 |
| Russia |
23 |
21 |
28 |
| Great Britain |
19 |
13 |
15 |
| Germany |
16 |
10 |
15 |
| Australia |
14 |
14 |
17 |
| South Korea |
13 |
10 |
8 |
| Japan |
9 |
6 |
10 |
| Italy |
8 |
10 |
10 |
| Netherlands |
7 |
5 |
4 |
| INDIA |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
- The official game of Badminton was born in a stately home in Gloucestershire, England, home of the Duke of Beaufort.
- Badminton is the Fastest Racket Sport with shuttle clocking speed in excess of 200 mph.
- The best shuttlecocks are made from the feathers from the left wing of a goose.
- The International Badminton Federation (IBF) was founded in 1934 with nine members and now has over 150 members.
- The IBF is now headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Badminton was introduced into USA in the 1890s and became popular in the 1930s.
- Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world, after soccer.
- Badminton is an Olympic Sport played first in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
- More than 1.1 billion people watched the 1992 Olympic Badminton competition on television.
- Only 3 countries have won the Thomas Cup since it's inception in 1948: Malaysia, Indonesia and China.
- Only 4 countries have won the Uber Cup since its inception in 1956: USA, Japan, China and Indonesia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
