The classy sport of Badminton
Badminton was first played when British military officers stationed in British India added a net to the English game of battledore and shuttlecock in the mid-18th century. Having been popular in Poona, now known as Pune, the game was also called
Poona. Originally, balls of wool were preferred by higher classes, as they worked better than a shuttlecock, also known as a shuttle, in windy or wet weather. In the end, the word shuttle stuck. Retired officers took this new twist to an old game back to England,
where it gained popularity and was developed, along with rules being set.
Badminton was officially launched in 1873 at the Badminton House, Gloucestershire, which was owned by the Duke of Beaufort. During that time, the sport was known as “The Game of Badminton,” which was later shortened to Badminton. In 1887, the Bath Badminton
Club was the first to standardize the rules and apply English ideas to the game. The All England Open Badminton Championship was started in 1899 by the Badminton Association of England, which also published the rules and regulations, which are very similar
to rules of today. In 1934, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, and the Netherlands joined what was known as the International Badminton Federation. India joined two years later in 1936. Now known as the Badminton World Federation,
the organization governs badminton internationally and globally develops the sport. Although started in England, Badminton has been dominated by Denmark in Europe. China has produced the best badminton players for years, followed closely by Indonesia, Malaysia,
and South Korea.
A game of badminton is played up to 21 points. A point is scored when the opponent fails to hit the shuttle back over the net. A match is the best out of three games. When the server scores a point, he gets to serve again. However, if the server fails to
score a point, the opponent serves. In singles, the service stands in their right service court when their score is even, and left service court when it is odd. In double matches, if the serving side wins a rally, then the same player gets to serve. However,
if the player served from the left service court, they will now serve from the right service court, so they serve to a different opponent in each serve.
If the score of the game becomes 20-all, then the first team to gain a lead of two points wins, to a maximum of 30 points. In this case, if the score is 30-29, the team or player with 30 points wins the game. The side that won the previous game gets to serve
first in the next one. If one side wins two games in a row, then the third is not played. However, if each side wins one game each, then the third game is played. Traditionally at the start of the match, a shuttle is hit into the air and the side that the
cork points to gets to decide whether they want to serve or receive, or which side of the court they would like to play on. The other side gets to decide the remaining factor. In other circumstances, a simple coin toss is used. When the shuttle is served,
it must pass over the short service line of the opponent’s court or else it will count as a fault. The server and receiver must stay within the boundary lines of their service court, until the shuttle is served. After the serve, they may move wherever they
please.
Over 150 years old, Badminton has not changed much since it was first played in British India. A demonstration sport in the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics, badminton became an official Summer Olympic sport in 1992. The gold medal in the Olympics is rated
as the highest coveted prize for a player. Though it may seem like a gentle game, shuttles have been known to travel over 300 km/h. The official Badminton smash record during a match was set by China’s Fu Haifeng, at 322 km/h. Outside of a match, the record
was set by Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, when conducting speed tests for Yonex, smashed a shuttle at a blistering 421 km/h. Not as gentle as it seems, is it?
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