Badminton

SPORT
WRITTEN BY:
 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
LAST UPDATED: May 21, 2019 See Article History

Badminton, court or lawn game played with lightweight rackets and a shuttlecock.
Historically, the shuttlecock (also known as a “bird” or “birdie”) was a
small cork hemisphere with 16 goose feathers attached and weighing about 0.17
ounce (5 grams). These types of shuttles may still be used in modern play, but shuttles
made from synthetic materials are also allowed by the Badminton World Federation.
The game is named for Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort
in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played about 1873. The roots of the
sport can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, and it is closely related to the
old children’s game battledore and shuttlecock. Badminton is derived directly
from poona, which was played by British army officers stationed in India in the
1860s. The first unofficial all-England badminton championships for men were held
in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for women was arranged the next year.


badmintonAn introduction to the sport of badminton.© Behind the News (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
The Badminton World Federation (BWF; originally the International Badminton
Federation), the world governing body of the sport, was formed in 1934. Badminton is
also popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Denmark. The BWF’s first world
championships were held in 1977. A number of regional, national, and zonal
badminton tournaments are held in several countries. The best-known of these is
the All-England Championships. Other well-known international tournaments include
the Thomas Cup (donated 1939) for men’s team competition and the Uber
Cup (donated 1956) for women’s team competition.
Badminton first appeared in the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1972 and
as an exhibition sport in 1988. At the 1992 Games it became a full-medal Olympic
sport, with competition for men’s and women’s singles (one against one) and doubles
(two against two). Mixed doubles was introduced at the 1996 Games.
Competitive badminton is usually played indoors because even light winds affect the
course of the shuttlecock. (Recreational badminton, on the other hand, is a popular
outdoor summertime activity.) The rectangular court is 44 feet (13.4 metres) long and
17 feet (5.2 metres) wide for singles, 20 feet (6.1 metres) wide for doubles. A net 5
feet (1.5 metres) high stretches across the width of the court at its centre. A clear
space of 4 feet (1.3 metres) around the court is needed. Play consists entirely of
volleying—hitting the shuttlecock back and forth across the net without letting it
touch the floor or ground within the boundaries of the court.

badminton: Lin DanLin Dan of China en route to winning the men's singles title at the 2009 world badminton
championships in Hyderabad, India.Indranil Mukherjee—AFP/Getty Images

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 In international play, athletes compete in best-of-three-games matches. A game is
played to 21 points, provided that the winner has at least a 2-point advantage. If a 2-
point advantage is never reached, the first player or team to score 30 points wins.
Points were only awarded to the serving side until 2006, when the BWF adopted the
“rally scoring” system, under which either side can score at any time.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor.
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Badminton
Badminton, village (parish), South Gloucestershire unitary authority, historic county of
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battledore and shuttlecock

Battledore and shuttlecock, children’s game played by two persons using small rackets called
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 frames, and shuttlecocks, made of a base of some light material, such as cork, with trimmed feathers
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Thomas Cup
Thomas Cup, trophy signifying world supremacy in the sport of badminton. The cup was donated in
1939 by Sir George Thomas for a series of men’s international team competitions to be managed by
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