We explain what badminton is, its basic rules, playing field and equipment. Also, its history, records and main championships.
What is badminton?
Badminton is a racket sport played individually or in pairs, in which each team is located on opposite sides of a net suspended in the air and passes a projectile called a shuttlecock, cock or feather over it, without letting it touch the ground, hitting it in turns with their rackets. Badminton is an Olympic sport (since 1992), widely played in Europe and Asia, with the latter being the continent that has the most world champions.
Badminton can be understood as a sport similar to tennis and volleyball, sports in which a point is scored when the opponent fails in his attempt to pass the ball to the other side, with the exception that in badminton the game is not played with a ball, but with a shuttlecock, which is a semi-sphere surrounded at its base by plastic feathers. You must read about Handball once.
Badminton competitions are usually held in five modalities: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles (i.e., one male and one female athlete).
History of badminton
Badminton takes its name from the Duke of Beaufort’s residence in Gloucestershire, England, called “Badminton House.” It was there that it was first played in the way it is played today. Its roots, however, can be traced back to Greece, China and especially India, where it was called Poona and was passed on to British colonial forces during the 19th century.
It was the British who popularised the sport in Europe, organising the first purely British badminton tournament in 1899. By the beginning of the 20th century, badminton was already popular in Western countries such as Denmark, the United States and Canada, and various national leagues had already been created, such as the World Badminton Federation (originally the International Badminton Federation), whose first world championship was held in 1977.
Badminton made its appearance at the Olympics in 1988, as an exhibition sport, and in 1992 as an Olympic sport, both in its individual category and for same-sex couples. Mixed competition was not permitted until 1996. Today, Asian athletes (China, Indonesia and South Korea) hold the majority of titles and medals in the sport. Maybe you should definitely read about Characteristic once.
Basic rules and playing field
Badminton is played on an indoor court, as the wind can affect the movement of the shuttlecock. The playing field is about 13.4 metres long by 5.18 metres wide (a little larger if playing in pairs) and has a net in the middle, about 1.55 metres high. The court is delimited by the outer lines on the side and back, and there are two service areas at each end, i.e. two per team.
Each player must handle his own racket, with which he must hit the shuttlecock to make it cross the net over it. The serve is made diagonally, as in ping-pong, and the player receiving the serve must be at the other end of the same imaginary diagonal line. In addition, the serve must be made below the waist. From there, the players must hit the shuttlecock in such a way as to hold it in the air and try to make it fall into the opponent’s court.
Badminton equipment
To play badminton it is essential to have:
- Rackets: Unlike rackets used in other sports, badminton rackets are very light (between 70 and 100 grams without strings), generally made of carbon fiber. Their head is oval and their handle is long, and the strings are usually made of nylon, between 0.65 and 0.73 millimeters.
- Shuttlecocks: Shuttlecocks are made of synthetic materials and have an aerodynamic, pyramidal shape. This causes them to always turn when hit so that the semicircle (made of cork with a leather cover) at the tip goes forward, allowing them to be hit again.
- Footwear: Badminton athletes use special, light footwear with little lateral support, since lateral movements are powerful and common in this sport.
Racket strokes
Badminton allows a wide variety of basic strokes, both forehand and backhand, except for the serve, which is only performed forehand. However, depending on the player’s position on the court and the height of the shuttlecock relative to the net, the following racket strokes can be distinguished:
- Ground strokes: When they are at the end of the playing court, players always hit the shuttlecock above their heads, either to perform lifts (throw the shuttlecock to the back of the opponent’s court), smashes (strong diving strokes to direct the shuttlecock to the ground in the opponent’s court), clearances (over-the-shoulder strokes that clear the shuttlecock from the opponent’s court) or touches (softer strokes to make the shuttlecock fall close to the net in the opponent’s court).
- Mid-court strokes: Normally, players in this position will always look for a smash (diving stroke towards the opponent’s court), either normal or jumping.
- Defensive shots: These shots usually occur close to the net, and are intended to respond to a smash or a touch. In this case, there are three options: a block with one’s own racket, a lift to prevent the shuttlecock from touching the ground, or a tense shot or drive.
Badminton Scoring
In badminton, a point is awarded each time the opponent fails to get the shuttlecock over the net, either because it hit the ground first, or because it hit the net or went out of play after being hit. Each match consists of 3 sets of 21 points each, and the team that wins two of them will win the final game.
If a team wins the first two sets, the third set will not need to be played. And if there is a tie at 20 points, the game will be played until one team has a 2-point lead. If the score reaches 29 points without this happening, the set will be decided by sudden death: the player who scores the next point will win.
When one of the competitors reaches 11 points, both teams will take a one-minute break.
Records and championships
Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world, with the speed of the shuttlecock often reaching hundreds of kilometres per hour. In fact, the fastest shot ever hit was by Chinese athlete Fu Haifeng in 2005, reaching a speed of 332 kilometres per hour. This is very impressive, considering that modern measuring devices record a maximum speed of 350 km/h.
As for championships, badminton is contested internationally in two major events: the International Olympic Games and the Badminton World Championships. In addition to these major competitions, there is a prestigious British championship held since 1899 in Birmingham, England, known as the All England. In addition, there are three other major international cups contested by category: the Thomas Cup (men only), the Uber Cup (women only) and the Sudirman Cup (mixed).
