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 with a feathered shuttle going 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 it was back in England, it slowly spread as the army rallied 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 place 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”. That’s 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 fairly evenly divided with about 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” All England matches began. In 1920 there were only around 300 badminton clubs in all 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 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 a delay in the first “Thomas Cup” games until the 1948–49 season. Someone tried to field an international women’s team around the same time, but it ultimately fell through 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 from England. In 1992, badminton was first contested as an official Olympic sport in Barcelona, ​​Spain. There are now several world badminton events including 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 lightweight rackets. The shuttlecock is typically a cork ball provided 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 net measurements are that the top edge of the net should be 5 feet 1 inch off the ground at the posts and 5 feet off the ground in the center. During badminton play, only the serving side can win a point. If the serving side of the shuttle does not return, it loses the serve and if the receiving side does not return, it loses 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 men’s and women’s competition.

Badminton has a rich and interesting history and its popularity is always increasing with the availability of cheap 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 brings up all sorts of interesting videos and exhibition games and matches.