Badminton

History
Games employing shuttlecocks have been played for centuries across Eurasia[a] but the modern game of
badminton developed in the mid-19th century among the British as a variant of the earlier game of battledore
and shuttlecock. ("Battledore" was an older term for "racquet".)[3] Its exact origin remains obscure. The name
derives from the Duke of Beaufort's Badminton House in Gloucestershire,[4] but why or when remains unclear.
As early as 1860, a London toy dealer named Isaac Spratt published a booklet titled Badminton Battledore—A
New Game but unfortunately no copy has survived.[5] An 1863 article in The Cornhill Magazine describes
badminton as "battledore and shuttlecock played with sides, across a string suspended some five feet from the
ground".[6]
The game may have originally developed among expatriate officers in British India,[7] where it was very
popular by the 1870s.[5] Ball badminton, a form of the game played with a wool ball instead of a shuttlecock,
was being played in Thanjavur as early as the 1850s[8] and was at first played interchangeably with badminton
by the British, the woollen ball being preferred in windy or wet weather.
Early on, the game was also known as Poona or Poonah after the garrison town of Pune,[7][9] where it was
particularly popular and where the first rules for the game were drawn up in 1873.[5][6][b] By 1875, returning
officers had started a badminton club in Folkestone. Initially, the sport was played with sides ranging from 1–4
players but it was quickly established that games between two or four competitors worked the best.[3] The
shuttlecocks were coated with India rubber and, in outdoor play, sometimes weighted with lead.[3] Although the
depth of the net was of no consequence, it was preferred that it should reach the ground.[3]
The sport was played under the Pune rules until 1887, when the J.H.E. Hart of the Bath Badminton Club drew
up revised regulations.[4] In 1890, Hart and Bagnel Wild again revised the rules.[5] The Badminton Association
of England published these rules in 1893 and officially launched the sport at a house called
"Dunbar"[c] in Portsmouth on 13 September.[11] The BAE started the first badminton competition, the All
England Open Badminton Championships for gentlemen's doubles, ladies' doubles, and mixed doubles, in
1899.[4] Singles competitions were added in 1900 and an England—Ireland championship match appeared in
1904.[4]
England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand were the
founding members of the International Badminton Federation in 1934, now known as the Badminton World
Federation. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton. Although
initiated in England, competitive men's badminton has traditionally been dominated in Europe by Denmark.
Worldwide, Asian nations have become dominant in international
competition. China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea are the nations which have
consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China being the greatest force in men's
and women's competition recently.
The game has also become a popular backyard sport in the United States.

Basic Skills
A. Grip
1. Forehand – with the racket head perpendicular to the floor, shake hands with the grip so the
“V” formed by the thumb and forefinger is on the top of the handle.
2. Backhand – using a forehand grip, rotate the hand slightly so the thumb is along and parallel
to the wide side of the handle.
B. Footwork
1. Move toward the shot with short steps and end with a long stride.
2. In the ready position the racket is held high, the knees are slightly bent, and the body weight is
on the balls of the feet.

C. Strokes

By using the same motion for all shots, the opponent is unable to detect what shot you are going
to make until the bird is actually hit. A good wrist action allows more power and control with
much less effort. A forehand stroke is one from the dominant side; the backhand stroke is from
the non-dominant side. The racket is swung back, the arm is bent with the elbow up, the wrist is
cocked, and the body weight is placed on the back foot. From this position, the stroke is made by
throwing the hand at the point of contact between bird and racket with weight being transferred
to the forward foot. If possible, shots should be made with an overhand stroke.
1. Clear – a shot used to drive your opponent away from the net or forecourt or to slow the
game. The bird should fly above the opponent’s reach and fall within one foot of the baseline.
2. Smash – an attacking shot made at the limit of one’s upward reach and slightly in front of the
shoulder. At the moment of contact, the arm and wrist come down forcibly.
3. Drive – A flat shot kept as low as possible and is second only to the smash as an attacking
shot.
4. Drop Shot – any shot that drops immediately after crossing the net. The descent of the bird is
controlled with little follow-through.
5. Net Shot – any shot played as near to the net as possible, controlled by wrist and forearm. The
hairpin shot is an example of a net shot.

D. Serves
1. High and deep (singles) – take a position near and on the proper side of the center line and about
four feet behind the short service line. Drop the bird on the racket side and swing the racket forward.
2. Low and short (doubles) – take a position closer to the front service line. The racket is swung
forward with little follow-through.
3. Drive (flick) – a quick snap of the wrist in the backhand grip with the bird held directly in front of
the body. The bird travels in a direct line at the receiver.

Playing Strategy
A. Singles – serve long most of the time. Return a high serve with a drop or clear. Build the
game plan on a basis of alternate drop and clear shots, and then use the smash/drive as openings
occur. Run your opponent from the front to back and from side to side of the court.
B. Doubles – make shots, the return of which will leave an opening for your partner to play a
winning shot. Never play a shot that leaves your partner open to smashes. Always make an
attacking shot. This implies that all shots should be hit down. Most serves should be short and
low. Attack short serves when receiving.
1. Side-by side – each partner is responsible for half of the playing court, net to baseline.
2. Up-and-back – one member plays the front portion of the court, operating from the centerline
and just behind the short service line. The partner plays the rear portion of the court from the
centerline and just in front of the double rear service line.
3. Up/back rotation – combines the two doubles’ strategies, using the side- by-side position for
defense, and up and back formation for attack.

Terminologies

1. Alley – an extension of the width of the court on both sides to be used in doubles play.
2. Backhand – any stroke made on the side of the body opposite the racket side.
3. Baseline – back boundary line.
4. Bird – the object that flies over the net, officially known as a shuttlecock.
5. Block – placing the racket in front of the bird and letting it rebound into the opponent’s court.
6. Carry – momentarily holding the bird on the racket during the execution of a stroke.
7. Clear – a high shot that falls close to the baseline.
8. Double hit – contacting the bird twice in succession on the same stroke.
9. Doubles – a game of four players, two on each team.
10. Drive – a hard stroke that just clears the net on a horizontal plane.
11. Drop – a shot made that barely clears the net with little speed.
12. Fault – any violation of the rules whose penalty is loss of serve or the point.
13. Forehand – any stroke made on the racket side of the body.
14. Hairpin (net) stroke – shot made from below and very close to the net with the bird just
clearing the net and dropping sharply downward.
15. Home position – the ideal spot for awaiting the opponent’s return.
16. Let – a play allowed to be replayed.
17. Match – best two out of three games.
18. Odd and even courts – in singles, the right half of the court is “even” and the left half of the
court is the “odd.” When the even player is serving from the right the score is even, and odd
when serving from the left.
19. Rally – rapid returns made by players.
20. Ready position – an alert body position enabling quick movement in any direction.
21. Receiver – the player to whom the bird is served.
22. Server – the player who puts the bird in play.
23. Shuttlecock – the feathered/plastic object that is hit back and forth in badminton.
24. Singles – a game involving one player on each end of the court.
25. Sling – an untrue hit, usually because of the bird momentarily resting on the racket.
26. Smash – a powerful overhand stroke that sends the bird downward over the net.
27. Stroke – the action of striking the bird with the racket.
28. Toss/spin – the method of deciding which side will serve first at the beginning of the match.

Court dimensions

The badminton court is 13.4m long and 6.1m wide. For singles the court is marked 5.18m wide.
The lines marking out the court are easily distinguishable and coloured white or yellow. The
lines are 40mm wide.

A court may be marked out for singles only. The back boundary lines also become the long
service lines and the posts or the strips of material representing them are placed on the side lines.
The diagonal full length of the full court is 14.366m.

Posts

The posts are 1.55m high from the surface of the court and remain vertical when the net is
strained.

The posts are placed on the double side lines irrespective of whether singles or doubles is played.
The posts or supports must not extend into the court beyond the side lines.

Where it is not practicable to have posts on the side lines, some method can be used to indicate
the position of the side lines where they pass under the net, eg by the use of thin posts or strips of
material 40mm wide, fixed to the side lines and rising vertically to the net cord.

Net

The net is 760mm in depth and a minimum of 6.1m wide.

The top of the net from the surface of the court is 1.524m at the centre of the court and 1.55m
over the side lines for doubles.

There must be no gaps between the ends of the net and the posts. If necessary, the full depth of
the net at the ends is tied to the posts.