Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport in which players use racquets to hit a shuttlecock over a net. Teams can be larger, but the most common forms are "singles," with one player per side, and "doubles," with two players per side. It is often played as a casual activity in a yard or on a beach. Professional games are played on a rectangular indoor court. A point is scored by hitting the shuttlecock so that it lands in the other team's half of the court, inside the boundary lines.

Each side may hit the shuttlecock only once before it crosses the net. A rally ends when the shuttlecock hits the floor or ground, or when a fault is called by the umpire, a service judge, or, if neither is present, the other side.

The shuttlecock is a object made of feathers, or of plastic in casual games. It flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. Because the feathers create a lot of drag, the shuttlecock slows down quickly. It can also go very fast compared to balls in other racquet sports, which makes badminton the fastest racquet sport in the world. In some languages, the sport is named after this feature. For example, the German word Federball means "feather-ball."

The game developed in British India from an older game called battledore and shuttlecock. Denmark came to be very strong in Europe, but the game became very popular in Asia. In 1992, badminton became a Summer Olympic sport with four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles. Mixed doubles was added four years later. At high levels, the sport needs great fitness, including aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed, and precision. It is also a technical sport that needs good motor coordination and skilled racquet movements, which use a lot of wrist flexibility.

History

Games using shuttlecocks have been played for hundreds of years across Eurasia. The modern game of badminton grew up in the mid-1800s among British officers living in British India. It was a version of the older game of battledore and shuttlecock. The name comes from the Duke of Beaufort's Badminton House in Gloucestershire, but it is not clear why or when the name was chosen. In 1860, a London toy seller named Isaac Spratt wrote a small booklet about the game. No copy of it is known to still exist. The game became very popular in India by the 1870s. An early form played with a wool ball, called ball badminton, was played in Thanjavur as early as the 1850s. The game was also called Poona or Poonah, after the town of Poona (Pune), where the first rules were written in 1873. By 1875, officers who had returned home started a club in Folkestone. When played outdoors, shuttlecocks were covered with India rubber and sometimes weighted with lead.

The sport was played under the Pune rules until 1887. In that year, J. H. E. Hart of the Bath Badminton Club wrote new rules. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the rules and officially started the sport in Portsmouth. The first competition, the All England Open Badminton Championships, began in 1899. In 1934, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand formed the International Badminton Federation. It is now called the Badminton World Federation, and it still leads international badminton today. Although the game started in England, Denmark has long been the strongest country in men's competition in Europe. Asian countries have since become the strongest in the world. In recent decades, players from China, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Taiwan (competing as "Chinese Taipei"), and Japan have produced many top players.

Rules

The rules of badminton come from the BWF's Laws of Badminton. The court is a rectangle with a net across the middle. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are the same length. The court dimensions are set so that players know exactly where the shuttlecock must land.

When serving, the shuttlecock must go over the short service line on the other side. If it does not, it is a fault. The server and the receiver stand diagonally across from each other in their service courts. This is a bit like tennis, but the shuttlecock cannot bounce. In singles, the server uses the right service court when the score is even and the left service court when it is odd. Each game is played to 21 points. A player scores a point by winning a rally.

Main article: Scoring system development of badminton

If the score is tied at 20–20, the game keeps going until one side has a lead of two points. If the score reaches 29–29, the next point wins the game. A match is the best of three games. If a let is called, the rally is played again and the score does not change.

Equipment

Badminton rules limit the design and size of racquets and shuttlecocks. Racquets are light. The best ones weigh between 70 and 95 grams (2.5 and 3.4 ounces) without the grip or strings. They are made from many materials, from carbon fibre composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel. Carbon fibre is strong for its weight and stiff, and it passes on kinetic energy well. Racquets were once made of light metals such as aluminium, and earlier still of wood. Wooden racquets are no longer made for ordinary buyers because they are too heavy and expensive. Some newer racquets include nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, to help them last longer. The strings are thin. Most racquets are strung at tensions between 80 and 160 N (18 to 36 lbf). Recreational players usually string at lower tensions, between 80 and 110 N (18 and 25 lbf). Professionals usually string between 110 and 160 N (25 and 36 lbf).

The grip lets a player make the handle thicker and choose a comfortable surface to hold. Common grip materials are PU synthetic grips or towelling grips. Sweat is a common problem, so players may use a drying agent or sweatbands, or change their grip more often. Replacement grips are thicker and are often used to make the handle bigger. Overgrips are thinner and are often used as the final layer.

Main article: Shuttlecock

A shuttlecock (also called a shuttle or birdie) is an object that creates a lot of drag as it moves through the air. It has an open conical shape. Traditionally, it is made from sixteen overlapping feathers set into a rounded cork base. The base is covered with thin leather or synthetic material. Synthetic shuttles are also common because they are cheaper and last longer. Badminton shoes are light and have soles made of rubber or similar materials that grip well, much like tennis shoes. Compared to running shoes, they offer less lateral support, because badminton requires strong movements from side to side. Players should choose proper badminton shoes, which have very thin soles, instead of running shoes. This helps reduce injuries.

Technique

Badminton has many basic strokes, and players need a lot of skill to use them well. Every stroke can be played on the forehand side (the same side as the playing hand) or the backhand side. Forehands are hit with the front of the hand leading, and backhands with the back of the hand leading. Near the net, most strokes work about equally well on either side. At the back of the court, players try to use their forehands as much as possible, because backhand overheads are harder to aim and cannot be hit as powerfully. The backhand clear is considered the hardest basic stroke.

The stroke a player chooses depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the net and how high it is. Near the net, players drop it just over the net. In the middle of the court, they often smash it downwards. At the back of the court, players try to hit it while it is still above them. This allows smashes, clears, and drop shots. When the shuttlecock is low, players must hit it upwards with a lift. Near net height, players can hit flat drives to attack.

Players also use spin and slicing, which means hitting the shuttlecock with an angled racquet face. This changes its path and can confuse opponents. The shuttlecock's feathers create drag, so it slows down quickly. It needs real power to hit the full length of the court. Its flight path, or parabola, falls more steeply than it rises. Serves are limited by the Laws, so the racquet must point downward when serving. Players often use slicing and short hits to trick opponents into moving the wrong way. Research on biomechanics suggests that power comes mainly from arm rotation rather than wrist movement. (See Basic strokes for an explanation of technical terms.)

Injuries

In badminton, cramps in the arms and legs are very common. Elbow and leg pain are also common because of fast movement. One sad incident was the death of Zhang Zhijie, who collapsed on the court and died of cardiac arrest.

Another serious injury happened to Carolina Marin. She landed awkwardly on her knee, which had already been repaired by surgery, and broke her right knee. She was leading 21–14 in the first game, but in the second game she had to stop playing at 10–6.

Strategy

To win at badminton, players need to use many different strokes at the right times. These range from powerful jumping smashes to soft net shots. A tight net shot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which sets up a smash. Players also try to trick their opponents by making different strokes look the same, so the opponent guesses wrong.

In singles, one player covers the whole court. Players aim their shots at the corners and mix lifts and clears with drop shots and net shots. Smashing is less common in singles. Singles also needs great fitness and patience.

In doubles, both pairs try to keep the attack going and to hit the shuttlecock downwards when they can. A common setup has one player hitting down from the back while their partner stands in the middle of the court. At high levels, doubles is very fast. Men's doubles is the most aggressive form of the game.

In mixed doubles, the woman usually stands at the front and the man at the back. Men are usually stronger and can smash harder. Air badminton is a related game. It is played outdoors on surfaces like sand, using a changed shuttlecock.

Organization

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the world governing body of the sport. It makes the rules for tournaments and works to keep play fair. Five regional confederations are linked to the BWF: Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC), Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA), Badminton Pan Am (BPA, which covers North and South America), Badminton Europe (BE), and Badminton Oceania (BO). Some national groups, such as Badminton Canada, USA Badminton, the Philippine Badminton Association, the Nippon Badminton Association, the Spanish Badminton Federation, the Badminton Korea Association, and the Federação Portuguesa de Badminton, are not linked to any of these confederations.

The BWF runs several international competitions. The Thomas Cup is the top men's team event. It was first held in 1948–1949. The Uber Cup is the women's version. It was first held in 1956–1957. Both now take place every two years. The Sudirman Cup is a mixed-gender team event. It began in 1989 and also takes place every two years. Badminton was shown as a demonstration event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Later, at the Barcelona Olympics, it became an official Summer Olympic sport. Its gold medals are now among the most valued prizes for individual players. The BWF World Championships, the World Junior Championships, the BWF Super Series, the All-England Championships, the Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournaments, the Badminton Asia Championships, the European Badminton Championships, and the Pan America Badminton Championships are also important events. Each one has different levels of difficulty and different rules for who can take part.

Comparison with tennis

Badminton is often compared to tennis. The two games are different in how they are scored, how the ball or shuttlecock is played, and how big the courts and racquets are. A badminton match is best of 3 games, and each game is played up to 21 points. In tennis, the ball may bounce once before a point ends. In badminton, a rally ends when the shuttlecock touches the floor. Tennis servers get two chances to land a serve, but badminton servers get only one. A tennis court is about twice as long and twice as wide as a badminton court. Tennis racquets are about four times as heavy, and tennis balls are more than eleven times heavier than shuttlecocks. The fastest tennis serve was made by Samuel Groth at 163.4 miles per hour. The fastest badminton smash in play was made by Mads Pieler Kolding at 264.7 miles per hour. Because the shuttlecock is so light, badminton players can use their wrists and fingers much more than tennis players. They can also hit many strokes with a short swing.