Badminton

Badminton is a racket sport played with a racket (a handheld implement with a stringed head). Two individual players (singles) or two pairs (doubles) face each other across a court with a net dividing it. The objective is to strike the shuttlecock over the net and land it in the opponent's court, while the other side tries to return it.

The object struck is not an ordinary ball, but a shuttlecock (also called a shuttle or birdie in English): a cork or rubber head fitted with feathers or synthetic feathers. Because of these feathers, the shuttlecock decelerates rapidly through the air, making the game dependent on short strokes and quick reactions, rather than the long rallies characteristic of tennis.

History

Games involving striking a feathered object with a racket existed in many parts of Asia and Europe for a long time. The modern form was developed in the nineteenth century, derived from English officers stationed in India and named after Badminton House, an English country estate. Formal rules were established at the end of that century, and an international governing body now oversees competition. Today the sport is widely played in Asia, particularly in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Denmark, which is among Europe's leading nations.

Court and equipment

The court is a rectangular area with different boundary lines: the outer boundaries for doubles are wider than those for singles, while the service line varies between the two forms. The net stands in the middle at a height of approximately one and a half meters. Modern rackets are very light, usually made of carbon fibre. Natural feather shuttlecocks are used in high-level competition, while synthetic ones are more common in practice.

Scoring rules

The match consists of three games; the pair or player winning two games wins the match. Each game is played to 21 points, but a margin of two points is required; if the score is tied, play continues until that margin is achieved. The current system is rally scoring: each side that wins a rally scores a point, regardless of who served.

Competition

Badminton has been part of the Olympic Games since the late twentieth century, with five events contested: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. There are also world championships held annually and team competitions bringing together nations.