The History and Rules of Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racket sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles).
The badminton court is rectangular and is divided by a net.
Players score points by hitting a shuttlecock with their racket so that it passes over the net and lands on the other side of the court.
Competitive badminton is best played indoors because the shuttlecock is affected by wind. But badminton, as a casual recreational activity, can also be played outdoors.
Badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992 (Barcelona).
History
Games similar to badminton have existed throughout history, from ancient Greece to medieval Japan and colonial India, where a form of the game called ‘poona’ was played.
In the 1860s, British Army officers posted to India became interested in ‘poona’ and took the game home to England, where the rules of badminton were set out.
This new sport was officially launched in 1873 at Badminton House, where the Duke of Beaufort introduced the game to his guests. The sport was then known as ‘The Game of Badminton’ for a number of years, until the name was shortened to Badminton.
Badminton Equipment Rackets
Badminton rackets are light with top-quality rackets weighing between 79 and 91 grams, including the strings. The grip of the racket is very important because it allows a player to increase the thickness of their racket handle and choose a comfortable surface to hold.
Shuttlecocks
A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle and also commonly known as bird or birdie) is a projectile with an open conical shape.
Badminton court
Badminton is played on a court marked for both singles and doubles matches. The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but both are the same length. The exception, which often causes confusion for newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.
The doubles court is 6.10 meters wide and 13.40 meters long.
The singles court is a little smaller (5.18 m wide and 13.40 m long).
The net is 1.55 m high.
Badminton Rules
1. Scoring system: 3×21 rally point scoring system.
Before May 2006, players could only win a point on their serve. But the scoring system was changed in 2006, and now players can earn a point on their serve and also when their opponent serves.
Each game is played to 21 points (with a margin of at least two points), with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally. If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as 24-22), up to a maximum of 30 points (30-29 is a winning score).
A match is the best of three games. The first player who wins two games wins the match.
2. Service:
- At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts.
- The serve must travel diagonally to be good.
- The server must hit the shuttle so that it passes over the net and the short service line and lands in the receiver’s service court.
- The server must hit the shuttle from below the waist.
- There is only one serve.
- In singles, the server stands in his right service court when his score is even or 0, and in his left service court when his score is odd.
3. Playing the game
- The objective of the game is to hit the shuttle back and forth over a net without permitting it to hit the floor in bounds on your side of the net.
- The shuttle is not allowed to bounce on the floor.
- The rally continues until someone wins it by hitting a fault. Faults include hitting the shuttle into the net, hitting it outside the court, hitting it twice before it goes over the net, carrying it on the racket, hitting the ceiling, touching the net with the racket or any part of the body during play, and reaching over the net to hit the shuttle.
- Whoever wins the rally earns one point and serves to start the next point.
- A shuttle can hit the net on its way across during play, and the rally can continue.
- The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair’s score reaches 11 points.