Badminton is a sport for two or four

people. The game is either one player

against one player or a team of two
players against another team of two
players. The players use rackets to hit a
shuttlecock over a net.

A badminton-like game was known in

ancient Greece and Egypt – a game called
battledore and shuttlecock – in which two
players hit a feathered shuttlecock back
and forth with tiny rackets.
The game was played in India during the
18th Century, at which time it was called
“Poona” . 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 in 1873 at his
estate called “Badminton” in
Gloucestershire.
In 1877, the newly formed Bath Badminton
Club arranged the first set of written rules.
In 1899, the All England Open Badminton
Championships, the first badminton
competition in the world, was held. Since
1992, Badminton has been an Olympic
sport. The first was in the 1992 Summer
Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Although badminton originated in England,

it is mainly played in countries of Asia such
as China, Indonesia and the Republic of
Korea that now dominates this sport.
Racket

The badminton racket is one of the most

important tools a player has in the game.
Badminton rackets are much lighter than
most other sports rackets because they are
made from materials such as carbon fiber
or lighter metals such as aluminum. Parts
of the racket include the head, throat,
shaft and handle with a maximum length
of 27.77 inches and a width of 9 inches. It
Strings that are stretched across the
opening of the racket in a checkerboard
pattern, which acts as the hitting surface.
Badminton rackets can vary widely in cost
depending on whether they are purchased
as part of a basic backyard set or as more
expensive professional models.

Shuttlecock

The badminton shuttlecock, also referred

to as a shuttle or birdie, acts similarly to a
ball in other racket sports. However, the
design of the birdie creates more drag as it
is propelled through the air due to its
feathered shape. The shuttlecock is made
up of a cone shape with a hard cork at its
tip. Shuttlecocks can be made from a
variety of materials -- more expensive
models are actually made from feathers,
and less expensive models are made from
plastic feathers. The shuttle has 16
feathers attached to the base and the
length of the feathers range between 2.44
and 2.75 inches.

Net
A mesh net divides the badminton court
into two sides. A badminton net is placed
lower than a volleyball net at five feet and
one inch high on the sides and five feet
high in the center. The length may vary
depending on whether doubles or singles
are playing, with singles reaching 17 feet
and doubles reaching 22 feet. The net is 30
inches wide with a 3-inch white tape
doubled over the top.

Facilities
The badminton court should be 44 feet
long by 22 feet wide if playing doubles,
and 44 feet long by 17 feet wide for
singles. If the facility is indoors, there
needs to be enough height for the
shuttlecock to be able to float across the
net without hitting the ceiling. This height
will vary depending on the strength of the
players.

References:

Author: Robert Wood, First Published:

2008, Page Title: Badminton History,
Website Name: Topend Sports, Access
Date (today): Thu Nov 23 2017 17:11:05
GMT+0800 (China Standard Time),
Webpage URL:
http://www.topendsports.com/sport/bad
minton/history.htm