BADMINTON

1)History

Games employing shuttlecocks have been played for centuries across Eurasia, but the modern
game of badminton developed in the mid-19th century among the British as a variant of the
earlier game of battledore and shuttlecock. The game may have originally developed among
expatriate officers in British India, where it was very popular by the 1870s. Ball badminton, a
form of the game played with a wool ball instead of a shuttlecock, was being played
in Thanjavur as early as the 1850s and was at first played interchangeably with badminton by
the British, the woolen ball being preferred in windy or wet weather. Early on, the game was
also known as Poona or Poonah after the garrison town of Poona, where it was particularly
popular and where the first rules for the game were drawn up in 1873. By 1875, officers
returning home had started a badminton club in Folkestone. Initially, the sport was played
with sides ranging from 1 to 4 players, but it was quickly established that games between two
or four competitors worked the best. The shuttlecocks were coated with India rubber and, in
outdoor play, sometimes weighted with lead. Although the depth of the net was of no
consequence, it was preferred that it should reach the ground.
England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New
Zealand were the founding members of the International Badminton Federation in 1934, now
known as the Badminton World Federation. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now
governs international badminton. The game has also become a popular backyard sport in
the United States.

2)Rules
The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF
Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.

Court
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both
singles and doubles play, although badminton rules permit a court to be marked for singles
only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are of the same length. The
exception, which often causes confusion to newer players, is that the doubles court has a
shorter serve-length dimension. The full width of the court is 6.1 meters (20 feet), and in
singles this width is reduced to 5.18 meters (17.0 feet). The full length of the court is 13.4
meters (44 feet). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the
court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 meters (6 feet 6 inches) from the net, and by
the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long
service line, which is 0.76 meters (2 feet 6 inches) from the back boundary.
The net is 1.55 meters (5 feet 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 meters (5.00 feet) high in the
centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is played.

Serving
When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the
opponents' court or it will count as a fault. The server and receiver must remain within their
service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock.
The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision
of the server or receiver. At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally
opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would
land in the receiver's service court. In singles, the server stands in their right service court
when their score is even and in their left service court when their score is odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she
changes service courts so that she/he serves to a different opponent each time. If the
opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court
serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves.

Scoring
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally
regardless of whether they served (this differs from the old system where players could only
win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of
three games.
If the score ties at 20–20, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such
as 24–22), except when there is a tie at 29–29, in which the game goes to a golden point of 30.
Whoever scores this point wins the game.

Lets
If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur
because of some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on a court (having
been hit there by players playing in adjacent court) or in small halls the shuttle may touch an
overhead rail which can be classed as a let.

3)Equipment
Racquets
Badminton racquets are lightweight, with top quality racquets weighing between 70 and 95
grams (2.5 and 3.4 ounces) not including grip or strings. They are composed of many different
materials ranging from carbon fiber composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel,
which may be augmented by a variety of materials.

Strings
Badminton strings for racquets are thin, high-performing strings with thicknesses ranging from
about 0.62 to 0.73 mm. Thicker strings are more durable, but many players prefer the feel of
thinner strings. String tension is normally in the range of 80 to 160 N (18 to 36 lbf).
Recreational players generally string at lower tensions than professionals, typically between 80
and 110 N (18 and 25 lbf). Professionals string between about 110 and 160 N (25 and 36 lbf).
Some string manufacturers measure the thickness of their strings under tension so they are
actually thicker than specified when slack. Ashaway Micro power is actually 0.7mm but Yonex
BG-66 is about 0.72mm.

Grip
The choice of grip allows a player to increase the thickness of their racquet handle and choose
a comfortable surface to hold. A player may build up the handle with one or several grips
before applying the final layer.

Shuttlecock
A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle; also called a birdie) is a high-drag projectile, with
an open conical shape: the cone is formed from sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into a
rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material.

Shoes
Badminton shoes are lightweight with soles of rubber or similar high-grip, non-marking
materials.
Compared to running shoes, badminton shoes have little lateral support. High levels of lateral
support are useful for activities where lateral motion is undesirable and unexpected.
Badminton, however, requires powerful lateral movements.

4)Technique
Strokes
Badminton offers a wide variety of basic strokes, and players require a high level of skill to
perform all of them effectively. All strokes can be played either forehand or backhand. A
player's forehand side is the same side as their playing hand: for a right-handed player, the
forehand side is their right side and the backhand side is their left side. Forehand strokes are
hit with the front of the hand leading (like hitting with the palm), whereas backhand strokes
are hit with the back of the hand leading (like hitting with the knuckles). Players frequently
play certain strokes on the forehand side with a backhand hitting action, and vice versa.

Position of the shuttlecock and receiving player

The choice of stroke depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the net, whether it is above
net height, and where an opponent is currently positioned: players have much better attacking
options if they can reach the shuttlecock well above net height, especially if it is also close to
the net. In the forecourt, a high shuttlecock will be met with a net kill, hitting it steeply
downwards and attempting to win the rally immediately. This is why it is best to drop the
shuttlecock just over the net in this situation.

Vertical position of the shuttlecock

When the shuttlecock is well below net height, players have no choice but to hit
upwards. Lifts, where the shuttlecock is hit upwards to the back of the opponents' court, can
be played from all parts of the court.
When the shuttlecock is near to net height, players can hit drives, which travel flat and rapidly
over the net into the opponents' rear midcourt and rear court.

Spin
Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and backspin in tennis) or
trajectory, and players may slice the ball (strike it with an angled racquet face) to produce such
spin. The shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, but slicing the shuttlecock does have
applications in badminton.

Other factors
When defending against a smash, players have three basic options: lift, block, or drive. The
service is restricted by the Laws and presents its own array of stroke choices. Unlike in tennis,
the server's racquet must be pointing in a downward direction to deliver the serve so normally
the shuttle must be hit upwards to pass over the net. The server can choose a low serve into
the forecourt (like a push), or a lift to the back of the service court, or a flat drive serve. Lifted
serves may be either high serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted so high that it falls almost
vertically at the back of the court, or flick serves, where the shuttlecock is lifted to a lesser
height but falls sooner.

5)Strategy
To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations.
These range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies
finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes.
Singles
Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based on forcing the
opponent to move as much as possible; this means that singles strokes are normally directed
to the corners of the court. Players exploit the length of the court by combining lifts and clears
with drop shots and net shots. Smashing tends to be less prominent in singles than in doubles
because the smasher has no partner to follow up their effort and is thus vulnerable to a
skillfully placed return.
In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high serve or with a flick serve. Low
serves are also used frequently, either forehand or backhand. Drive serves are rare.

Doubles
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing downwards when the opportunity
arises. Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an ideal attacking formation with one player
hitting down from the rear court, and their partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash
returns except the lift.

Mixed doubles
In mixed doubles, both pairs typically try to maintain an attacking formation with the woman
at the front and the man at the back. This is because the male players are usually substantially
stronger, and can, therefore, produce smashes that are more powerful. Mixed doubles require
greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play.

6)Organization
Governing bodies
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the internationally recognized governing body of
the sport responsible for the regulation of tournaments and approaching fair play. Five
regional confederations are associated with the BWF:
 Asia: Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC)
 Africa: Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA)
 Americas: Badminton Pan Am (North America and South America belong to the same
confederation; BPA)
 Europe: Badminton Europe (BE)
 Oceania: Badminton Oceania (BO)

Competitions

The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the Thomas Cup, the premier
men's international team event first held in 1948–1949, and the Uber Cup, the women's
equivalent first held in 1956–1957. The competitions now take place once every two years.
More than 50 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental
confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament involves 12 teams, following an
increase from eight teams in 2004. It was further increased to 16 teams in 2012.
In the BWF World Championships, first held in 1977, currently only the highest-ranked 64
players in the world and a maximum of four from each country can participate in any category.
In both the Olympic and BWF World competitions restrictions on the number of participants
from any one country have caused some controversy because they sometimes result in
excluding elite world level players from the strongest badminton nations. The Thomas, Uber,
and Sudirman Cups, the Olympics, and the BWF World (and World Junior Championships), are
all categorized as level one tournaments.
At the start of 2007, the BWF introduced a new tournament structure for the highest level
tournaments aside from those in level one: the BWF Super Series. This level two tournament
series, a tour for the world's elite players, stage twelve open tournaments around the world
with 32 players (half the previous limit)
The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge, International Series, and Future
Series, encourage participation by junior players.

1) history
  A game of battledore and shuttlecock

William Beechey, Kenneth Dixon playing with a shuttlecock, c. 1790

An 1854 depiction of battledore and shuttlecock by John Leech

2) Rules
court

Badminton court, isometric view

Serving

The legal bounds of a badminton court during various stages of a rally for singles and doubles games
Equipment

Badminton racquets

Badminton Undergrip Flat

A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt

Shuttlecocks with feathers
Technique

Malaysian player Lee Chong Wei smashing

Japanese player Sayaka Sato prepares for a forehand serve

Korean players Lee Yong-dae and Ko Sung-hyun defend against a smash

strategy

Indian women players Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta at 2010 BWF World

Championships
The 2012 Olympic mixed doubles final in London

Organiztion

A men's doubles match. The blue lines are those for the badminton court. The other
coloured lines denote uses for other sports – such complexity being common in multi-use
sports halls.
Spanish Beatriz Corrales at the 2015 Finnish Open Badminton Championships in Vantaa,
Finland

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