BADMINTON

Brief History

Badminton first originated in India, where it was known as Poona. Badminton got its name from the place Badminton, the
hometown of Duke of Beaufort, Gloucestershire, England. It was brought back to England by British Army officers and was made
popular in the Duke’s hometown.

In 1887, the Bath Badminton Club was formed and the rules were formalized and standardized for a tournament play. From
England, the game spread to Canada and in 1878, it was introduced in New York, United States. In 1879, a badminton association
was formed in the city of New York; this association has the distinction of being the badminton club with the longest continued
existence in the United States.

In 1936, the American Badminton Association was formed and the first national tournament was held in Chicago 1937.

Values

The game badminton can be played by people of all ages and with limited and inexpensive equipment. Both the young and
the old can develop some skill and enjoy playing the game. Since it can be easily mastered, it is a most liked activity for family
recreation.

Badminton is a gentleman’s game, as sportsmanship is the foremost factor involved. Beginners easily learn the game and
derive satisfactions and pleasure from it. It is an ideal outdoor sport.

The Game

Badminton is a racket game played by two players for singles and four players for doubles. This game is played in a small
court. In addition, it is played with a small, light racket and shuttlecock or bird. The bird is made of light weight feathers set in a
cork.

Terminology

Some terms you must understand and use in the game.

Ace – a point, a score

Bird – a shuttlecock
Carry – an indecisive hit of the shuttle
Cross court – a hit from one side of the court directly to the opposite side of the opponent’s court.
Down – loss of service. One down in singles and two downs in doubles.
Fault – illegal play which results in loss of service
Flight – the path the shuttle follows after being struck
Inning – in doubles, the side’s turn of service
Love – no score, zero
Let – a serve that is repeated because of serving out of turn or incorrect half court and the point is won.
Match point – the final point in a match; or the winning point in the third game.
Wood shot – striking the shuttle with any part of the wood of the racket.

The Court

For practicality, one court for both the singles and doubles is laid out. The double court is of the same length as the single
but 3 ft. wider.

Doubles Service Court A Doubles Side Line

Singles Service Court B Singles Side Line

The Equipment

There are three items essential to a badminton game: ( 1 ) the racket ; ( 2 ) the shuttlecock; and ( 3 ) the net.

The badminton racket is similar to a lawn tennis racket. It may be strung with nylon, linen, gut, or steel string. Though
expensive, gut strings are generally considered the best.
 The bird or shuttlecock is made from hard cork with feathers attached. There are two kinds of birds, the heavy and the lighter
birds. The heavy ones are for outdoor purposes and the light ones are for indoor purposes.

Plastic birds are convenient for physical education classes and intramural competitions. A shuttlecock is considered the right
quality if a player of average strength plays it with an underhand stoke and goes to an upward angle and falls not less than one foot
short of the boundary line.

The net is made of fine, colored cord, and is 5 ft in height from the top of the net to the ground. The posts are 5 ft 1 in height
and are sufficiently firm from the ground.

BASIC SKILLS IN BADMINTON

Grips of the Rocket

1. Forehand grip. This is popularly called the handshaking grip. The racket is held close to the end of the handle with the
butt of the racket resting against the heel of the hand. The forefinger is extended toward the shaft of the racket.

2. Background grip. The racket is turned clockwise in the fingers. The thumb is placed against the back of the handle.
This hand position has greater power and needs a wrist snap in its execution.

The hand, wrist, and arm should be relaxed but as soon as the racket hits the bird, the fingers tighten automatically on the
handle.

Serves

1. The long high serve. This is the basic serve of the game in singles. Drop the shuttle in front of your body. Lift the
racket head upward and downward, then with wrist and arm action, let the racket follow a downward and forward
underhand swing. Snap the wrist forcefully at the impact of the racket with the bird and make a follow through with
your arm. For a right-handed server, the body weight is the left foot.
2. The short serve. This is the basic serve for the doubles. The mechanics is the same as the long serve except that the
server strikes the shuttle so that it just clears the net and falls close to the front of the proper service court.

A Long Serve

B Short Serve

3. The driven serve. This is a kind of serve that may catch the opponent off guard. This is a flat service. The racket head
travels in a more horizontal path but the shuttle must still be struck below the waist. The result is that the shuttle moves
fast in a low traveling direction but falls in mid-court on the receiver’s backhand side.

Body Position and Footwork

 There are two positions of the body and feet when delivering the service from the right court. The first position is the “
right foot forward, body facing the receiving court” position. In this type of position, stand near the center service line, left foot at the
back.. Rotate your upper body to face the receiving court.

This second position is used by the advanced players. Place your left foot forward and the body facing the receiving court.
Be on your toes all the time. Your stance should be such that the weight of the body will be moving with every shot. Bend
your knees slightly. Agility is very important so you can change directions with facility and case.

Strokes

The shuttle may be hit with the racket with an underhand, overhand, or drive position. The flight of the shuttle depends upon
the speed and direction of the swing of the racket.

1. The clear. Use the forehand overhand position. Bring the racket from behind the body with the head up. Strike the shuttle at
highest point of reach when your arm is fully extended. Just before the moment of impact, use a forceful wrist snap so that the
shuttle is hit up and toward the baseline in the opponent’s court. When hitting with this stroke, the racket follows the same path
as it does in the long service except that the left side is toward the direction of the bird flight.

2. The drive. This is a fast moving shuttle that follows a horizontal path from one court to the other. Bring the racket back at
shoulder level followed by a swing in which the racket head remains parallel to the floor. The shuttle is struck in front of the
body and the wrist snaps at the moment of impact. The right arm follows through across the body to shoulder level on the left
side. See to it that the shuttle flies low or else, it is easy to return.

3. The smash. Bring the arm from behind the body with the elbow bent. Then forcefully extend your arm overhead to
contact the shuttle. The shuttle must be hit with a strong straight downward position and a tremendous wrist snap. The shuttle
must be hit at the highest possible point and in front of the body. Be sure that you are able to make the shuttle travel downward
with great speed.

4. The drop shot. The flight of the bird is relatively slow and is hit using the forehand or backhand side with accuracy. Bring
your arm from behind the body and extend completely at the impact of the shuttle. Follow with a wrist snap and let t he bird
follow a straight line and drop just over the net. The follow through is minimum.

Strategy

Singles

The most important factors in singles are speed and deception. The players must strive to cover the whole court and outwit
the opponent.

Doubles

1. Slide by Side
Partners divide the court in half so that each player covers one side of the court. The disadvantages of side by side is
that the player must run away from the net, so balance is difficult to maintain.

2. Front and Back

The partners divide the court into two parts. One covers the forecourt and the other covers the backcourt. The
advantage of this is that the player can run from one side to another but both have to be skillful in making strokes. The
disadvantage is that the backcourt player will be too exhausted.

3. Diagonal
Partners divide the court into halves and one player covers the net front one side while the other does it from the side
line to the backcourt. There is a possibility for the players to be confused in accepting responsibility for making shots at
midcourt.

4. Rotation
Instead of dividing the court into halved, the players move in a counterclockwise circle to cover the court.

Basic Rules

1. Only the serving side may score

2. In order to win, the player must gain 2 points ahead of his opponent.
3. The men’s singles and all double games consist of 15 to 21 points, as arranged in advance.
4. At the beginning of the inning, the first service is always delivered from the right court. The score determines which
partner will be in the “first serve” position.
5. It is a fault if:

a. a player reaches into the opponent’s court and strikes the shuttle before it has crossed the net.
 b. the player touches the net with any part of his body, clothing, or racket.
c. A player hits the shuttle more than once before it crosses over the net.
d. A player fails to return the shuttle before it hits the floor, or if he fails to return the shuttle over the net.

e. The net strikes any part of the wood of the racket. If the faults are committed by the serving player, the
service is lost but if committed by the receiving side, the point is served to the server.

6. It is a service fault and results in a loss of service if:

a. the shuttle is above the waist or hand at the point of contact.

b. The server is not completely within the proper service court.
c. The server does not keep at least one foot in contact with the floor.
d. The server in any way balks or faints.
e. The served shuttle fails to fall in the proper receiving court.

Prepared by:

ALADIN SAGUN RUMBAOA

Subject Teacher