Badminton was invented in ancient Greece and Egypt as a form of sport. Badminton was originally a children’s game and was initially called “battledore” or “shuttlecock”. Originally, badminton was played by a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets. During the 18th century in India, badminton was called “poona”. British Army officers who were stationed in India during this time brought this version of Poona to England during the 1860s. Once back in England, it slowly spread as the army came together to introduce the sport. to your friends. It wasn’t until a famous party in 1837 that the game really got going. The Duke of Beaufort threw a party at his country house where this sport was practiced. The name of the field venue was “Badminton in Gloucestershire”. At the time of this party, the game had no name, so it was simply known as “The Game of Badminton”. This is how the game got its official name!

Now that the game had a name, it quickly spread from England to the United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Despite its “male” beginnings, the sport is now split fairly evenly with roughly the same number of women playing the sport as men.

In 1899 the first All-England men’s championship was held and in 1900 the first women’s tournament was organized. For one reason or another, these two tournaments were considered unofficial, and it was not until 1904 that the “official” start of the All England matches began. In 1920 there were only around 300 badminton clubs in the whole of England, but by 1920 there were 500 and, amazingly, just 10 years later, there were over 9,000 in the British Isles after World War II.

The International Badminton Federation was organized in 1934 with 9 initial members: Canada, England, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and New Zealand. It was not until 1981 that this organization became the sole international governing body for the sport. The International Badminton Federation, in 1939, decided that it was time for international competitions, and the IB President at the time, Sir George A. Thomas, Baronet, offered a trophy to the winning team. Ironically, the wartime and postwar shortage of shuttlecocks caused the first “Thomas Cup” games to be delayed until the 1948–49 season. Someone tried to field an international women’s team around the same time, but it was ultimately not acted upon due to financial difficulties. Finally, during the 1956-1957 season, the “Uber Cup” was held. The Uber Cup was a triennial international women’s tournament where the trophy was donated by Mrs HS Uber of England. In 1992, badminton was first contested as an official Olympic sport in Barcelona, ​​Spain. There are now several world badminton events including the Uber Cup, World Championships, World Juniors, Sudirman Cup, World Cup and World Grand Prix Finals.

The game of badminton today is similar to tennis and volleyball and involves the use of a net, shuttlecock, and light rackets. The shuttlecock is typically a cork ball fitted with feathers for stabilization. It is played with two or four players and is played indoors or outdoors on a marked court approximately 44 feet by 17 feet wide for two players and 20 feet wide for 2 players. The official measurements of the net are that the top edge of the net should be 5 feet 1 inch from the ground at the posts and 5 feet from the ground in the center. During the badminton game, only the serving side can win a point. If the serving side of the shuttle does not return, they lose the serve and if the receiving side does not return, they lose the point and will receive again. A badminton match is played to 15 points, except in women’s singles, which is played to 11 points. If the score is tied towards the end of a game, it can be decided through a procedure called setup. Adjustment is a tie-breaking procedure that involves different procedures depending on the point at which the score is tied and the rules may be different for the men’s and women’s competition.

Badminton has a rich and interesting history, and its popularity is always increasing with the availability of inexpensive equipment and places to play, almost anyone can enjoy the sport of badminton. New competitions are being planned, including the development of a SuperSeries and some unique “Spectaculars”. Searching for badminton on YouTube turns up all sorts of interesting videos and exhibition games and matches.