Introduction

Made-for-television radar guns instantly flash the speed of serves, volleys and pitches to the sporting public around the world these days, but few viewers could name the world's fastest racket sport. The title belongs to badminton.

The flight of the shuttlecock, a missile of cork and goose feather that players volley across the net, has been recorded at speeds of 260 kilometres per hour. Speed, agility and lightning-fast reflexes are essential to the game. Add stamina, too - players have been known to cover more than six kilometres in a single match.

While contemporary badminton first appeared in the mid-19th century, it evolved from the game battledore and shuttlecock, which can be traced back to ancient Greece, China, Japan and India.

Especially popular in Asia and Europe today, badminton became a full competition sport at the Olympic Games in 1992.

Understanding Badminton

Badminton is a sport that can be played by men and women of all skill levels and all ages. But to compete at the highest levels successfully, athletes must develop special skills such as technique, stamina, strength, and flexibility.

The court is a 13.40 m x 5.18 m rectangle for singles and a 13.40 m x 6.10 m rectangle for doubles.

The same court is used for single and double contests and only the line marks differ. The court is divided into two equal parts by a net attached to the posts at a height of 1.55 m.

Uniform

Badminton athletes wear short pants and short sleeve shirts. According to older regulations, clothing had to be 75% white. This regulation is no longer valid; any combination of colours is permissible.

Shoes are usually short and flat but there are no official standards or specifications.

Shuttlecock

Shuttlecock is made of a semispherical piece of cork coated with leather. On it are attached 16 actual goose feathers forming a cone. A shuttlecock must weigh 4.74 - 5.50 gr.

Racket

The first Badminton rackets were made of wood. Today more technologically advanced material (aluminum, graphite, titanium) is used. The racket's stringed area is made of synthetic threads. A racket has the following parts: grip, head, shaft and stringed area. It weighs 85 - 100 gr. Its length and width must not exceed 68 cm and 23 cm respectively

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The Contest

An umpire, aided by a service judge and 11 line judges, presides over a Badminton contest. Before the beginning of the contest, the umpire flips a coin. The winning athlete or pair has three options: choose its side of the court, choose to serve first or choose to receive first.

To score a point athletes have to hit the shuttlecock over the net with their rackets so that it lands on the opponent’s side. An athlete or pair looses the point if the shuttlecock hits the net, lands outside the court or if he or she commits a fault. The most common faults occur when:

To score a point an athlete must to be the one serving. Serving spots differ in singles and doubles. Service regulations are:

A contest ends when an athlete or pair wins 2 games of 15 points each. In women’s singles a game is completed in 11 points.

In the case of a tie (1 – 1 games) there is a five-minute break and then a 3rd game is played to determine the winner. In case of a tie, (14 – 14 or 10 – 10 in women’s singles) the athlete or pair to reach 14 (or 10) first decides if the game will be played to 17 (or 13) points. This is known as “setting”. If no setting is called, the game ends at 15 (or 11) points.

Technique

Advanced technique, stamina, strength, speed and flexibility are necessary skills for Badminton athletes. Badminton athletes develop various techniques of striking the shuttlecock, including: