Overview and History

- Badminton is a racket sports that is played on a court divided by a net five feet
high.
- The game is played with a shuttlecock (“bird”).
- Can be played as singles or doubles.
- The object of the game is to hit the shuttlecock over the net so that eventually
the opponent is unable to return the shot.
- Badminton originated in India in the mid-1800’s
- Its popularity increased when English army officers stationed in India transported
the game to England.
- Eventually it spread to the United States.

Badminton Brief History

- came from a child’s game called “BATTLEDORE” and “SHUTTLECOCK”
- Invented a long ago; a form of sport played in ancient Greece and Egypt
- 18th century-it was called “POONA” in India
- 1860- British Army Officers stationed there in India took the Indian version to
England
- 1873- the game was introduced in England at a party given by the DUKE OF
BEAUFORT in GLOUCESTERSHIRE and referred to as “THE GAME OF
BADMINTON” until BADMINTON became its official name
- 1887- the sport was played in England under the rules that was prevailed in
India
- -the BATH BADMINTON CLUB was formed
- 1895- the BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF ENGLAND was formed and take over
the authority of Bath Badminton Club
- 1899- the 1st ALL ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN was held
- 1900-pioneer tournament for women was arranged
- 1904- marked the beginning of the official ALL ENGLAND MATCHES
- 1920- there were 300 badminton clubs in England;
- 1930-about 500 badminton clubs in England; over 9000 in Britishisles soon after
the World War II
- 1934- the INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON FEDERATION (IBF) was organized with
nine members
CANADA IRELAND WALES
DENMARK NETHERLANDS
ENGLAND NEW ZEALAND
FRANCE SCOTLAND

- March 1939- inauguration of international competition by the IBFSIR GEORGE A.

THOMAS, BARONET, the president of IBF offered a trophy for the winning team
- 1948-1949- the war and post war shortages of shuttlecocks delayedthe 1st
Thomas Cup matches
 - 1950- the idea of women’s international team badminton
championship was broached but was turned down because of financial
problems; then decided to establish in triennial basis
- MRS. H. S. UBER- from England, donated the trophy for thetournament,that is
why the tournament wascalled “UBER CUP”
- 1956-1957- the first tournament for the Uber Cup was held
- 1992- the game badminton was officially played in Olympic Game held in
BARCELONA, SPAIN.

Badminton Five Elements in Olympic Game

Singles for men
Singles for women
Doubles for men
Doubles for women
Mixed doubles

Equipment
Racket (also: racquet)
a long handle with an oval frame, used in sports like tennis or badminton for
hitting the ball or shuttlecock

 Rackets are fragile.

 Avoid hitting the floor, walls, posts, nets, and other people.
 Handle the shuttlecock carefully and only by their rubber tips.
 If birds get stuck in the net remove them carefully so that they don’t tear.
 If your assigned racket is damaged report it to your teacher at the beginning of
class.
 If you don’t, you are held responsible for the damage and will be fined.
 Make sure to return your racket to its numbered spot and bring all the birdies
back to the teacher.

Anatomy of Badminton Racket

Strings
a set of thin cords or strings which are stretched between the sides of the
frame of a racket

Graphite
a light carbon material used in the manufacture of rackets, but also in the
middle of pencils

Shuttlecock
the small light object with a rounded end to which real or artificial feathers
are fixed and which is hit over the net in badminton

Feathers
soft light fluff which covers a bird's body; each feather consists of a long thin
central part with hair-like material along each side
Court Dimension

General Rules
 Winners of the first game must serve first in the next game.
 Teams change sides after each game.
 Any shuttle landing on the lines are good.
 During rally, if the shuttle touches the net and goes over it is good.
Rules of Badminton
 Toss for serve – Usually a spin of the racket – pick serve or receive.
 21 points to win a set.
  If tied at 20 or deuce, 2 advance points will apply.
 This is a simplification of the scoring rules.
 The line is good.
 2 win of set out of 3 to win a match.

Badminton Stokes
a. Clear- high, deep shot to the back-boundary line.
b. Drive- A hart hit horizontal flight over the net.
c. Drop shot- a stroke hit very little speed that falls very close to the net on the
opponent side.
d. Lob- also called a clear, high clear, or a driven clear that goes over the
opponent’s head.
e. Smash- hard hit overhead shot which forces the shuttle sharply downward. The
main attacking stroke.

Terminologies
Alley- an extension of the width of the court by 1’6” on both sides.
 Used in doubles.
Back alley- between the doubles back service line and the singles back service line.
Baseline- another name for the back-boundary line.
Bird- officially known as shuttlecock. Referred to as shuttle.
Block- Placing the racket in front of the shuttle and letting it rebound into the
opponent’s side of the court.
Carry- holding the shuttle on the racket during a stroke. Also called a “sling” or a
“throw”.
  This is illegal.
Center or basic position- position in which a player stands in relation to the court,
net, opponent and shuttle.
Double hit- hitting the shuttle twice in the same stroke.
 This is illegal
Doubles- game of four players, two on each team.
Down- loss of serve given when serving side fails to score
 In doubles, the first side to serve at the start of the game only has one
down.
Hand down- the loss of the serve in doubles.
Home position- ideal court spot for awaiting the opponent’s return.
 Usually a mid court near the centerline.
“In” side- side having the right to serve.
Inning- term of service.
Kill- fast downward shot which usually cannot be returned.
Let- play that is allowed to be re-played.
Love- no score, the score at the beginning of the game and the after “setting” the
score.
Match- best two out of three games.
Mixed doubles- games played with partners of the opposite sex.
“Out” side- side receiving the serve.
Rally- rapid returns made by players.
Ready position- an alert body position that allows quick movement in any direction.
Serve or Service- act of putting the shuttle into play.
Set or setting a game- method of extending games by increasing the number of
points necessary to win tied games.
 The player reaching the tied score first has the option of “setting” the
score.
Set-up- poor shot which makes a kill easy.
Singles- game involving two players on each side of the court.
Stoke- action of striking the shuttle with the racket.

Serving

Doubles
- Serving starts from the right or left court depending on if the score is odd or
even.
- You continue to serve as long as you score.
- The serving side switches courts after each point won.
- If a fault is made by the “in” side, the server loses the serve.
 A point is scored and the birdie goes to the other team
 The players do not switch, the birdie will go to the service court
depending on score.
 Paly continues until the serve is lost.
Singles
- A player can only score while serving.
- Each time they score a point, they switch service courts.
- Whenever a players score is zero or even number, they serve from right side
service court.
- When the server’s score is an odd number they serve from the left side service
court.

Serve
o The serve must be hit below the waist
o The birdie must be contacted below the wrist.
o The server must not move his/her feet must until the bird has left the racket.
o It must be served into the diagonal court.
o You only score if you are serving.
o In singles you must hit into the long narrow court.
o In doubles you must hit it into the short wide court
o Thus, the short line is used in doubles only.

Serving Rules
 The server must keep bot feet within the service court during the serve.
 The serve must be underhand and the shuttle must be contacted below the
waist.
 The shuttle must be hit in front of the body.
 The server may not serve until the receiver is ready.
 During a serve, the partner of the server and the receiver may stand anywhere
as long as they don’t obstruct the opponents view.
 A serve that touches the net and goes into the proper service area is legal. It is a
let serve and the server gets another serve.
 If the server misses the shuttle entirely on the serve, it is not a fault and they
can serve again.
 If any part of the racket touches the shuttle it is considered a serve and is
a fault.
 The server should announce the score before each serve.
 If a single player is playing a doubles team, the single player is allowed two
terms of service.

Systems of Play (Doubles)

Side by side- defensive positioning
 each player is responsible for one side of the court
 good positioning to defend against a smash.
Up and back- offensive positioning
 one player in front half the other in back half
 this allows the team to put pressure on the other team.
Combination- combination of both systems
 When a team hits the shuttle in the air, they assume side by side position to
defend against the smash.
 At other times they are in up and back position.

Strategy
o Put your opponent on the defensive.
o Hit the bird so that your opponents only possible return is an upward direction.
o Hit the shuttle with an overhand stroke whenever possible.
o Use the smash if possible.
o Play to your opponent’s weakness.
o Use a variety of shots and keep your opponent moving.
o Recover your own court position quickly.

Techniques

 Serve – long or short

 Forehand
o For right handed players: A stroke hit when the shuttle in on the right side
of the body.
o For left handed players: A stroke hit when the shuttle is on the left side of
the body.
 Round the head- an overhead stroke played on the left or backhand side of the
body.
 Smash- a hard hit overhand stroke with a fast downward path
o It is a main attacking stroke.
 Drive- a powerfully hit forehand or background stoke which just clears the top
of the net.
o Difficult to return due to the shuttle’s straight line trajectory.
 Clear- a stroke which sends the shuttle high over the opponents head and drops
near the backcourt boundary line.
o It may be hit with an overhead or underhand stroke.
o Can be used as offensive or defensive play.
 Drop Shot- the shuttle is stroked over the net so it drops very close to the net.

Faults
o Overhand serves
 Anytime the server contacts the shuttle higher than their waist.
 If any part of the head of the racket is higher than the server’s
hand holding the racket.
o During the serve, the shuttle lands outside the correct service court.
 o If the server’s or receiver’s feet are not in the correct service court as the shuttle
is served.
o If the player touches the net with their racket or body.
o If the shuttle…
o
 Hits the obstruction such as the ceiling, wall, backboard, etc.
 Fails to go over the net
 Is hit by the other team before it crosses the net.
 Is not distinctively hit, but held momentarily on the racket.
 Is hit more than once in succession by a team.
 Hits any part of the players body.

Common Faults
o Hitting the shuttle cock two times in a row. You may only hit the bird one time.
o When the birdie gets stuck in the net or goes through or under the net.
o If the birdie lands outside the boundaries.
o A player may not reach over the net and hit the bird.
o Touching the net.
o If the birdie fails to go over the net.
o The player must hit it with the racket. The birdie may not be hit with any part of
the body.

Scoring

o Points are scored only by both teams, serving or receiving (rally)

o A point is rewarded to the either team whenever the other side commits a fault.
 If a fault is committed by the serving side, the server does not score a
point and loses the serve.
Doubles
o There are 21 points in doubles game.
o Must win by 2 points, or the first person to reach 30.
Singles
o There are 21 points in a single game.
o Must win by 2 points, or the first person to reach 30.