Badminton - Overview

Badminton, prominently known as Shuttlecock, is an age old game that has its origin about 2000 years ago in parts of Europe and Asia. Badminton was mostly played by the higher society of England as a pastime and the game was mostly practiced by hitting the shuttlecock forward and backward. Rules similar to that of today’s Badminton were written in 1893 and the modern game was popularized in England.

Badminton as battledore and shuttlecock is played with sides across a string suspended some five feet above the ground. The sport tests player’s athletic stamina, agility and good motor coordination skills.

Objective

The objective of badminton is similar to that of other racket games. This game can be played in three variants; singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. A shuttle cock is shot with a wired metal rimmed racket across the net, called a serve, to player(s) on the other side of the court who try to send it back.

Each player tries to land the shuttle cock on the opposite teams while intercepting it on their side. The cock has to fly over the net and reach the other side once a player hits it. The shuttlecock volleys among the players to make a rally, and they hit it with their rackets till it lands on the court or till one of the players commits a fault.

The player scores a point if the opposite player misses the shuttle. These hits can either be smashes, slow and light, or flat and low.

Team Size

Size is no barrier for forming a badminton team. In university level or junior college level, teams can either be of single gender or mixed. Players from a school can form many teams and participate in the tournament. Two players of the same or different gender can form a team and participate in doubles, while single players can participate in singles tournaments.