Badminton Facts and Trivia

By Simon Nguyen
Test your knowledge of badminton (facts) with this fun badminton trivia quiz.
There are a total of 12 trivia questions. Answers to the badminton fact trivia can
be found at the end of the quiz.
1. The object/ball used in badminton is called
a) Badminton ball b) Light flyer c) Shuttlecock d) Birdie e) Either c or d
2. The game of badminton originated from which country.
a) Great Britain b) Denmark c) China d) India e) France
3. An official badminton game is best of three sets. Each set is played to
a) 11 pts b) 15 pts c) 21 pts d) 7 pts e) None of the above
4. The world's oldest badminton competition is
a) The World Championships b) The All-England Open Championships c) The
Summer Olympics d) Thomas Cup
5. Which international organization is the governing body of competitive
badminton?
a) Racquet Sports Union b) International Badminton Association c) Badminton
World Federation
6. What is widely accepted as the most powerful stroke/shot in badminton?
a) The serve b) The drive c) The clear d) The smash e) All strokes are equal
7. What year did badminton become an official Olympic sport?
a) 1972 b) 1982 c) 1988 d) 1992 e) 1996
8. Up to now, which country has won the most gold medals (all-time) at
Badminton Worlds?
a) Indonesia b) China c) Denmark d) Great Britain e) Japan
9. What is considered a legal serve in badminton?
a) Make contact below the waist b) Land on the receiver's side c) Travel over the
net d) All of the above
10. Which of these sports is a variant of badminton?
a) Real tennis b) Racquetball c) Speed badminton d) Squash e) None of the
above
=>CONTINUE ON PAGE 2
11. Badminton is universally recognized as the world's fastest racquet sport. The
official record for the fastest smash is
a) 262 mph b) 272 mph c) 282 mph d) 300 mph e) 202 mph
12. True or False. The United States have never won a badminton medal at
either worlds or the Olympics.
Answer Key:
1)e 2)d 3)c 4)b 5)c 6)d 7)d 8)b 9)d 10)c 11)a 12)False
Classification:
Expert - more than 9 correct
Intermediate - 7 to 9 correct
Novice - less than 7 correct
Badminton's Beginning?
Modern badminton began as "poona" in India. In the 1860s it was
adopted by British Army officers stationed in India. The
officers took the game back to England, where it became a success
at a party given by the Duke of Beaufort at his estate called
"Badminton" in Gloucestershire. The first badminton club in this
country, the Badminton Club of New York, was formed in 1878.

National Events To Shoot For?

U.S. Junior National Championships, U.S. Adult National
Championships, U.S. Senior National Championships, USBA Classics.

Fastest Sport?
Badminton is one the world's fastest racket sports, requiring
quick reflexes and superb conditioning. In a badminton smash,
the shuttlecock has been timed at speeds over 200 m.p.h. in top
international competition.

Aerobic Sport?
Badminton is a highly aerobic sport which can be played
throughout one's lifetime. In a typical two-game match, a player
run approximately one mile.

Badminton's Popularity?
A 1993 study revealed that more than 1.2 million Americans play
badminton at least 25 times a year, 760,000 Americans call
badminton their favorite sport, and more than 11.2 million
Americans played the sport at least once during the year.
Internationally, more than 1.1 billion people watched the 1992
Olympic badminton competition on television.

Tennis vs. Badminton

Statistics Don't Lie
The speed and the stamina required for badminton are far greater
than for any other racket sport. At the 1985 All England
(Tennis) Championships, Boris Becker defeated Kevin Curren 6-3,
6-7, 7-6, 6-4. At the 1985 World Badminton Championships in
Calgary, Canada, Han Jian of China defeated Morten Frost of
Denmark, 14-18, 15-10, 15-8. The following is a statistical
comparison of those matches.

Time: Tennis, 3 hours and 18 minutes. Badminton, 1 hour and 16

minutes.
Ball/Shuttle in Play: Tennis, 18 minutes. Badminton, 37
minutes.
Match Intensity*: Tennis, 9 percent. Badminton, 48 percent.
Rallies: Tennis 299. Badminton, 146.
Shots: Tennis, 1,004. Badminton, 1,972.
Shots Per Rally: Tennis, 3.4. Badminton, 13.5.
Distance Covered: Tennis, 2 miles. Badminton, 4 miles.

Note that the badminton players competed for half the time, yet
ran twice as far and hit nearly twice as many shots.