Badminton is a
racquet sport
played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing
pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a
rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by
striking a
shuttlecock with their
racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their
opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has
struck the ground, and each side may only strike the shuttlecock
once before it passes over the net.
The shuttlecock (or shuttle) is a feathered projectile whose unique
aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently from the balls
used in most racquet sports; in particular, the feathers create
much higher
drag, causing the
shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly than a ball. Shuttlecocks
have a much higher top speed, when compared to other racquet
sports. Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind, competitive
badminton is best played indoors. Badminton is also played outdoors
as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach
game.
Since 1992, badminton has been an
Olympic
sport with five
events: men's and
women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in
which each pair consists of a man and a woman. At high levels of
play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic
stamina, agility, strength, speed and precision. It is also a
technical sport, requiring good
motor
coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet
movements.
History and development
The
beginnings of Badminton can be traced to mid-19th century British India, where it was created by
British
military
officers stationed there. Early photographs show Englishmen adding a
net to the traditional English
game of
battledore and
shuttlecock. Being particularly popular in the British
garrison town Poona
, the game
also came to be known as Poonai. Initially, balls
of wool were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet
conditions, but ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was
taken by retired officers back to England where it developed and
rules were set out.
As early as 1860,
Isaac Spratt, a
London toy dealer, published a booklet,
Badminton Battledore -
a new game, but unfortunately no copy has survived.
The new
sport was definitively launched in 1873 at the Badminton House
, Gloucestershire
, owned by the Duke of
Beaufort. During that time, the game was referred to as
"The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became
Badminton.
Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that
prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized
the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic
regulations were drawn up in 1887.
In 1893, the Badminton Association of
England published the first set of rules according to these
regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched
badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Portsmouth
, England on September 13 of that year. They
also started the
All England Open
Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the
world, in 1899.
The
International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was
established in 1934 with Canada
, Denmark
, England,
France
, the Netherlands
, Ireland
, New
Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India
joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international
badminton and develops the sport globally.
While set out in England, competitive badminton in Europe has
traditionally been dominated by Denmark. Indonesia, South Korea and
Malaysia are among the nations that have consistently produced
world-class players in the past few decades and dominated
competitions on the international level, with China being the most
dominant in recent years.
Laws of the game
The following information is a simplified summary of the Laws, not
a complete reproduction. The definitive source of the Laws is the
BWF Statutes publication, although the digital distribution of the
Laws contains poor reproductions of the diagrams.
Playing court dimensions
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts
are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although the
laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles
court is wider than the singles court, but both are the same
length. The exception, which often causes confusion to newer
players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length
dimension.
The full width of the court is 6.1 metres (20 ft), and in
singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres (17 ft). The
full length of the court is 13.4 metres (44 ft). The
service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of
the court, by a short service line at a distance of
1.98 metres (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the
outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is
also marked by a long service line, which is 0.78 metres
(2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.
The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the
edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net
posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles is
played.
There is no mention in the Laws of Badminton of a minimum height
for the ceiling above the court. Nonetheless, a badminton court
will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high
serve.
Equipment laws
The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the
Laws restrict the design and size of racquets and shuttlecocks. The
Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct
speed:
- 3.1
- To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes
contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The
shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction
parallel to the side lines.
- 3.2
- A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than
530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back
boundary line.
Scoring system and service
The basics
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point
whenever they win a rally (this differs from the old system, where
players could only win a point on their serve). A match is the best
of three games.
At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in
diagonally opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits
the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service
court. This is similar to tennis, except that
a badminton serve must be hit below waist height and with the
racquet shaft pointing downwards, the shuttlecock is not allowed to
bounce and in badminton, the players stand inside their service
courts unlike tennis.
When the serving side loses a rally, the serve passes to their
opponent(s) (unlike the old system, there is no "second serve" in
doubles).
In singles, the server stands in his right service court when his
score is even, and in his left service court when his score is
odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player
continues to serve, but he changes service courts so that he serves
to each opponent in turn. If the opponents win the rally and their
new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if
odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players'
service courts are determined by their positions at the start of
the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of
the rally. A consequence of this system is that, each time a side
regains the service, the server will be the player who did
not serve last time.
Details
When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short
service line on the opponents' court or it will count as a
fault.
If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side
gains a two point lead (such as 24-22), up to a maximum of 30
points (30-29 is a winning score).
At the start of a match, a coin is tossed. The winners of the coin
toss may choose whether to serve or receive first, or they may
choose which end of the court they wish to occupy. Their opponents
make the remaining choice. In less formal settings, the coin toss
is often replaced by hitting a shuttlecock into the air: whichever
side the corked end points will be the side that serves
first.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first.
These can also be called rubbers. If one team wins a game they play
once more and if they win again they win that match, but if they
lose they play one more match to find the winning team. For the
first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who
serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players
change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a
third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when
the leading pair's score reaches 11 points.
The server and receiver must remain within their service courts,
without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the
shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so
long as they do not insight the opposing server or receiver.
Faults
Players win a rally by striking the shuttlecock over the net and
onto the floor within the boundaries of their opponents' court (
Singles: the side tramlines are out, but the back tramline is in.
Doubles: the side tramlines are in, but the back tramline is out.).
Players also win a rally if their opponents commit a fault. The
most common fault in badminton is when the players fail to return
the shuttlecock so that it passes over the net and lands inside
their opponents' court, but there are also other ways that players
may be faulted.
Several faults pertain specifically to service. A serving player
shall be faulted if the shuttlecock is above his waist (defined as his lowest rib) at point of contact,
or if his racket's head is not pointing downwards at the moment of
impact. This particular law was modified in 2006: previously, the
server's racket had to be pointing downwards to the extent that the
racket head was below the hand holding the racket; and now, any
angle below the horizontal is acceptable.
Neither the server nor the receiver may lift a foot until the
server has struck the shuttlecock. The server must also initially
hit the base (cork) of the shuttlecock, although he may afterwards
also hit the feathers as part of the same stroke. This law was
introduced to ban an extremely effective service style known as the
S-serve or Sidek serve, which allowed the server
to make the shuttlecock spin chaotically in flight.
Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes
back over the net; but during a single stroke movement, a player
can contact a shuttlecock twice (this happens in some sliced
shots). A player may not, however, hit the shuttlecock once and
then hit it with a new movement, nor may he carry and sling the
shuttlecock on his racket.
It is a fault if the shuttlecock hits the ceiling.
Lets
If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no
change to the score. Lets may occur due to some unexpected
disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on court (having been hit
there by players on an adjacent court) or in small halls the
shuttle may touch an overhead rail which can be classed as a
let.
If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let
shall be called; yet, if the receiver attempts to return the
shuttlecock, he shall be judged to have been ready.
There is no let if the shuttlecock hits the tape (even on
service).
Equipment
Racquets
Badminton racquets are light, with top
quality racquets weighing between 79 and 91 grams including the
strings. They are composed of many different materials ranging from
carbon fibre composite
(graphite reinforced
plastic) to solid steel, which may be augmented by a variety of
materials. Carbon fibre has an
excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent
kinetic energy transfer. Before the
adoption of carbon fibre composite, racquets were made of light
metals such as aluminum. Earlier still, racquets were made of wood.
Cheap racquets are still often made of metals such as steel, but
wooden racquets are no longer manufactured for the ordinary market,
due to their excessive mass and cost. Nowadays, nanomaterials such
as fullerene and carbon nanotubes are added to rackets
giving them greater durability.
There is a wide variety of racquet designs, although the Laws limit
the racquet size and shape. Different racquets have playing
characteristics that appeal to different players. The traditional
oval head shape is still available, but an isometric head shape is increasingly common in new
racquets. They are most popular to most players.
Strings
Badminton strings are thin, high performing strings in the range of
about 0.65 to 0.73 mm thickness. Thicker strings are more
durable, but many players prefer the feel of thinner strings.
String tension is normally in the range of 80 to 130 N (18 to 36 lbf).
Recreational players generally string at lower tensions than
professionals, typically between 18 and . Professionals string
between about 25 and .
It is often argued that high string tensions improve control,
whereas low string tensions increase power. The arguments for this
generally rely on crude mechanical reasoning, such as claiming that
a lower tension string bed is more bouncy and therefore provides
more power. This is in fact incorrect, for a higher string tension
can cause the shuttle to slide off the racquet and hence make it
harder to hit a shot accurately. An alternative view suggests that
the optimum tension for power depends on the player: the faster and
more accurately a player can swing their racquet, the higher the
tension for maximum power. Neither view has been subjected to a
rigorous mechanical analysis, nor is there clear evidence in favour
of one or the other. The most effective way for a player to find a
good string tension is to experiment.
Grip
The choice of grip allows a player to increase the thickness of his
racquet handle and choose a comfortable surface to hold. A player
may build up the handle with one or several grips before applying
the final layer.
Players may choose between a variety of grip materials. The most
common choices are PU synthetic grips
or towelling grips. Grip choice is a matter of personal preference.
Players often find that sweat becomes a problem; in this case, a
drying agent may be applied to the grip or hands, sweatbands may be
used, the player may choose another grip material or change his
grip more frequently.
There are two main types of grip: replacement grips and
overgrips. Replacement grips are thicker, and are often
used to increase the size of the handle. Overgrips are thinner
(less than 1 mm), and are often used as the final layer. Many
players, however, prefer to use replacement grips as the final
layer. Towelling grips are always replacement grips. Replacement
grips have an adhesive backing, whereas overgrips have only a small
patch of adhesive at the start of the tape and must be applied
under tension; overgrips are more convenient for players who change
grips frequently, because they may be removed more rapidly without
damaging the underlying material.

A shuttlecock with a plastic
skirt
Shuttlecock
A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle and also
commonly known as a bird) is a high-drag projectile, with an open conical shape: the cone is formed from
sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into
a rounded cork base. The cork is
covered with thin leather or synthetic
material.
Synthetic shuttles are often used
by recreational players to reduce their costs as feathered shuttles
break easily. These nylon shuttles may be constructed with either
natural cork or synthetic foam base, and a plastic skirt.
Additionally, nylon shuttlecocks come in three varieties, each
variety for a different range of temperatures. These three
varieties are known as green (slow speed which will give you an
extra 40% hang time/shot length), blue (middle speed), and red
(fast speed). The colours, and therefore speeds, are indicated by
coloured strips fastened around the cork. In colder temperatures, a
faster shuttle is used, and in hotter climates, a slower one is
chosen.
Shoes
Badminton shoes are lightweight with
soles of rubber or similar high-grip,
non-marking materials.
Compared to running shoes, badminton shoes have little lateral support. High levels of lateral
support are useful for activities where lateral motion is
undesirable and unexpected. Badminton, however, requires powerful
lateral movements. A highly built-up lateral support will not be
able to protect the foot in badminton; instead, it will encourage
catastrophic collapse at the point where the shoe's support fails,
and the player's ankles are not ready for the sudden loading, which
can cause sprains. For this reason, players should choose badminton
shoes rather than general trainers or running shoes, because proper
badminton shoes will have a very thin sole, lower a person's centre
of gravity, and therefore result in fewer injuries. Players should
also ensure that they learn safe and proper footwork, with the knee
and foot in alignment on all lunges. This is not only a safety
concern, as proper footwork is critical in order to move
effectively around the court.
Strokes
Francesca Setiadi, Canada, flies high at the Golden Gate Badminton
Club (GGBC) in Menlo Park, 2006
Forehand and backhand
Badminton offers a wide variety of basic strokes, and players
require a high level of skill to perform all of them effectively.
All strokes can be played either forehand or
backhand. A player's forehand side is the same side as his
playing hand: for a right-handed player, the forehand side is his
right side and the backhand side is his left side. Forehand strokes
are hit with the front of the hand leading (like hitting with the
palm), whereas backhand strokes are hit with the back of the hand
leading (like hitting with the knuckles). Players frequently play
certain strokes on the forehand side with a backhand hitting
action, and vice versa.
In the forecourt and midcourt, most strokes can be played equally
effectively on either the forehand or backhand side; but in the
rearcourt, players will attempt to play as many strokes as possible
on their forehands, often preferring to play a
round-the-head forehand overhead (a forehand "on the
backhand side") rather than attempt a backhand overhead. Playing a
backhand overhead has two main disadvantages. First, the player
must turn his back to his opponents, restricting his view of them
and the court. Second, backhand overheads cannot be hit with as
much power as forehands: the hitting action is limited by the
shoulder joint, which permits a much greater range of movement for
a forehand overhead than for a backhand. The backhand
clear is considered by most players and coaches to be the most
difficult basic stroke in the game, since precise technique is
needed in order to muster enough power for the shuttlecock to
travel the full length of the court. For the same reason,
backhand smashes tend to be weak.
Position of the shuttlecock and receiving player
The choice of stroke depends on how near the shuttlecock is to the
net, whether it is above net height, and where an opponent is
currently positioned: players have much better attacking options if
they can reach the shuttlecock well above net height, especially if
it is also close to the net. In the forecourt, a
high shuttlecock will be met with a net kill, hitting it
steeply downwards and attempting to win the rally immediately. This
is why it is best to drop the shuttlecock just over the net in this
situation. In the midcourt, a high shuttlecock
will usually be met with a powerful smash, also hitting
downwards and hoping for an outright winner or a weak reply.
Athletic jump smashes, where players jump upwards for a
steeper smash angle, are a common and spectacular element of elite
men's doubles play. In the rearcourt, players
strive to hit the shuttlecock while it is still above them, rather
than allowing it to drop lower. This overhead hitting
allows them to play smashes, clears (hitting the
shuttlecock high and to the back of the opponents' court), and
dropshots (hitting the shuttlecock so that it falls softly
downwards into the opponents' forecourt). If the shuttlecock has
dropped lower, then a smash is impossible and a full-length, high
clear is difficult.
Vertical position of the shuttlecock
When the shuttlecock is well below net height,
players have no choice but to hit upwards. Lifts, where
the shuttlecock is hit upwards to the back of the opponents' court,
can be played from all parts of the court. If a player does not
lift, his only remaining option is to push the shuttlecock softly
back to the net: in the forecourt this is called a
netshot; in the midcourt or rearcourt, it is often called
a push or block.
When the shuttlecock is near to net height,
players can hit drives, which travel flat and rapidly over
the net into the opponents' rear midcourt and rearcourt. Pushes may
also be hit flatter, placing the shuttlecock into the front
midcourt. Drives and pushes may be played from the midcourt or
forecourt, and are most often used in doubles: they are an attempt
to regain the attack, rather than choosing to lift the shuttlecock
and defend against smashes. After a successful drive or push, the
opponents will often be forced to lift the shuttlecock.
Other factors
When defending against a smash, players have three
basic options: lift, block, or drive. In singles, a block to the
net is the most common reply. In doubles, a lift is the safest
option but it usually allows the opponents to continue smashing;
blocks and drives are counter-attacking strokes, but may be
intercepted by the smasher's partner. Many players use a backhand
hitting action for returning smashes on both the forehand and
backhand sides, because backhands are more effective than forehands
at covering smashes directed to the body.
The service is restricted by the Laws and presents its own array of
stroke choices. Unlike in tennis, the servers racket must be
pointing in a downward direction to deliver the serve so normally
the shuttle must be hit upwards to pass over the net. The server
can choose a low serve into the forecourt (like a push),
or a lift to the back of the service court, or a flat drive
serve. Lifted serves may be either high serves, where
the shuttlecock is lifted so high that it falls almost vertically
at the back of the court, or flick serves, where the
shuttlecock is lifted to a lesser height but falls sooner.
Deceptions
Once players have mastered these basic strokes, they can hit the
shuttlecock from and to any part of the court, powerfully and
softly as required. Beyond the basics, however, badminton offers
rich potential for advanced stroke skills that provide a
competitive advantage. Because badminton players have to cover a
short distance as quickly as possible, the purpose of many advanced
strokes is to deceive the opponent, so that either he is tricked
into believing that a different stroke is being played, or he is
forced to delay his movement until he actually sees the shuttle's
direction. "Deception" in badminton is often used in both of these
senses. When a player is genuinely deceived, he will often lose the
point immediately because he cannot change his direction quickly
enough to reach the shuttlecock. Experienced players will be aware
of the trick and cautious not to move too early, but the attempted
deception is still useful because it forces the opponent to delay
his movement slightly. Against weaker players whose intended
strokes are obvious, an experienced player will move before the
shuttlecock has been hit, anticipating the stroke to gain an
advantage.
Slicing and using a shortened hitting action are
the two main technical devices that facilitate deception. Slicing
involves hitting the shuttlecock with an angled racquet face,
causing it to travel in a different direction than suggested by the
body or arm movement. Slicing also causes the shuttlecock to travel
much slower than the arm movement suggests. For example, a good
crosscourt sliced dropshot will use a hitting action that
suggests a straight clear or smash, deceiving the opponent about
both the power and direction of the shuttlecock. A more
sophisticated slicing action involves brushing the strings around
the shuttlecock during the hit, in order to make the shuttlecock
spin. This can be used to improve the shuttle's trajectory, by
making it dip more rapidly as it passes the net; for example, a
sliced low serve can travel slightly faster than a normal low
serve, yet land on the same spot. Spinning the shuttlecock is also
used to create spinning netshots (also called tumbling
netshots), in which the shuttlecock turns over itself several
times (tumbles) before stabilizing; sometimes the shuttlecock
remains inverted instead of tumbling. The main advantage of a
spinning netshot is that the opponent will be unwilling to address
the shuttlecock until it has stopped tumbling, since hitting the
feathers will result in an unpredictable stroke. Spinning netshots
are especially important for high level singles players.
The lightness of modern racquets allows players to use a very short
hitting action for many strokes, thereby maintaining the option to
hit a powerful or a soft stroke until the last possible moment. For
example, a singles player may hold his racquet ready for a netshot,
but then flick the shuttlecock to the back instead with a shallow
lift. This makes the opponent's task of covering the whole court
much more difficult than if the lift was hit with a bigger, obvious
swing. A short hitting action is not only useful for deception: it
also allows the player to hit powerful strokes when he has no time
for a big arm swing. The use of grip tightening is crucial to these
techniques, and is often described as finger power. Elite
players develop finger power to the extent that they can hit some
power strokes, such as net kills, with less than a 10 cm
racquet swing.
It is also possible to reverse this style of deception, by
suggesting a powerful stroke before slowing down the hitting action
to play a soft stroke. In general, this latter style of deception
is more common in the rearcourt (for example, dropshots disguised
as smashes), whereas the former style is more common in the
forecourt and midcourt (for example, lifts disguised as
netshots).
Deception is not limited to slicing and short hitting actions.
Players may also use double motion, where they make an
initial racquet movement in one direction before withdrawing the
racquet to hit in another direction. This is typically used to
suggest a crosscourt angle but then play the stroke straight, or
vice versa. Triple motion is also possible, but this is
very rare in actual play. An alternative to double motion is to use
a racquet head fake, where the initial motion is continued
but the racquet is turned during the hit. This produces a smaller
change in direction, but does not require as much time.
Strategy
To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of
strokes in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping
smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with
a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For
example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock,
which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and
tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the
court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to
return.
Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many
different strokes that look identical, and use slicing to deceive
their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke. If an
opponent tries to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong
direction and may be unable to change his body momentum in time to
reach the shuttlecock.
Doubles
Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing
downwards when possible. Whenever possible, a pair will adopt an
ideal attacking formation with one player hitting down from the
rearcourt, and his partner in the midcourt intercepting all smash
returns except the lift. If the rearcourt attacker plays a
dropshot, his partner will move into the forecourt to threaten the
net reply. If a pair cannot hit downwards, they will use flat
strokes in an attempt to gain the attack. If a pair is forced to
lift or clear the shuttlecock, then they must defend: they will
adopt a side-by-side position in the rear midcourt, to cover the
full width of their court against the opponents' smashes. In
doubles, players generally smash to the middle ground between two
players in order to take advantage of confusion and clashes.
At high levels of play, the backhand serve has become popular to
the extent that forehand serves almost never appear in professional
games. The straight low serve is used most frequently, in an
attempt to prevent the opponents gaining the attack immediately.
Flick serves are used to prevent the opponent from anticipating the
low serve and attacking it decisively.
At high levels of play, doubles rallies are extremely fast. Men's
doubles is the most aggressive form of badminton, with a high
proportion of powerful jump smashes.
Singles
The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same
length, with the exception that a serve in the single can reach the
end of the court while a serve in the doubles could not. Since one
person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based
on forcing the opponent to move as much as possible; this means
that singles strokes are normally directed to the corners of the
court. Players exploit the length of the court by combining lifts
and clears with dropshots and netshots. Smashing is less prominent
in singles than in doubles because players are rarely in the ideal
position to execute a smash, and smashing often leaves the smasher
vulnerable if the smash is returned.
In singles, players will often start the rally with a forehand high
serve. Low serves are also used frequently, either forehand or
backhand. Flick serves are less common, and drive serves are
rare.
At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness.
Singles is a game of patient positional manoeuvring, unlike the
all-out aggression of doubles.
Mixed doubles
In mixed doubles, both pairs try to maintain an attacking formation
with the woman at the front and the man at the back. This is
because the male players are substantially stronger, and can
therefore produce smashes that are more powerful. As a result,
mixed doubles requires greater tactical awareness and subtler
positional play. Clever opponents will try to reverse the ideal
position, by forcing the woman towards the back or the man towards
the front. In order to protect against this danger, mixed players
must be careful and systematic in their shot selection.
At high levels of play, the formations will generally be more
flexible: the top women players are capable of playing powerfully
from the rearcourt, and will happily do so if required. When the
opportunity arises, however, the pair will switch back to the
standard mixed attacking position, with the woman in front.
Left Handed Singles
A left-handed player has a natural advantage against a right-handed
player. This is because there are more right-handed players in the
world (you are not used to playing them). When you play a southpaw,
the forehand and backhand are reversed, so that a shot to your
right of the court (the backhand of right-handed players) will
result in a very powerful smash against you. Because of this,
left-handed players tend to have more shots directed to their
forehand, and consequently their backhand is not properly trained.
Therefore, the main weakness of a southpaw is his backhand. Knowing
this, a left-handed player should try to direct most of his shots
to the left side of the court. That is because even though it is
the forehand of a right-handed person, the return of that shot will
also be on your forehand (it is much harder to perform a
cross-court shot than a parallel shot). That will ensure that you
can keep smashing. It is said that left-handers have better
smashes. It is partly true because of the rare angles that a
left-hander is capable of producing (a parallel smash on the left
side of the court, rather than a slightly angled shot), and also
because the feathers on the shuttlecock are placed in a way that
favors a left-handed shot (the shuttlecock will have more speed
when sliced with a left-handed person's forehand, thus producing a
much more powerful smash). Though, a left-handed player himself
will be confused when playing a fellow counterpart.
Left handed/Right handed doubles pair
The LH/RH doubles pair is very common at advanced levels of play.
That is because they have a distinct advantage over a RH/RH or
LH/LH pair. The most notable advantage is that neither side of the
court is a weak side. This makes it so that the opposing team have
to use more time to think of which side is the backhand and send it
there, because against a normal RH/RH pair, you would usually
almost always send it to your right side of the court, whilst
against a LH/RH pair the weak side changes during the rally.
Another advantage is also in the smash of a left-handed player. The
feathers of a shuttlecock are placed to have a natural spin, so
when slightly slicing the shuttlecock with a left-handed shot, you
counter that natural spin which creates drag and produce a faster
smash. The same effect goes when a right-handed player slices the
shot with his backhand. A very good example of this is Fu Haifeng, a left-handed player who holds the
world record with a 206 mph (332 km/h) smash.
Governing bodies
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the internationally
recognized governing body of the sport. Five regional
confederations are associated with the BWF:
Competitions

A mens doubles match.
The blue lines are those for the badminton court.
The other coloured lines denote uses for other sports – such
complexity being common in multi-use sports halls.
The BWF organizes several international competitions, including the
Thomas Cup, the premier men's event, and
the Uber Cup, the women's equivalent. The
competitions take place once every two years. More than 50 national
teams compete in qualifying tournaments within continental
confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament
involves 12 teams, following an increase from eight teams in
2004.
The Sudirman Cup, a mixed team event
held once every two years, began in 1989. It is divided into seven
groups based on the performance of each country. To win the
tournament, a country must perform well across all five disciplines
(men's doubles and singles, women's doubles and singles, and mixed
doubles). Like association
football (soccer), it features a promotion and relegation
system in every group.
Individual competition in badminton was a demonstration event in
the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics. It became a
Summer Olympics sport at the
Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The 32 highest
ranked badminton players in the world participate in the
competition, and each country submitting three players to take
part. In the BWF World
Championships, only the highest ranked 64 players in the world,
and a maximum of three from each country, can participate in any
category.
All these tournaments, along with the BWF World Junior
Championships, are level one tournaments.
At the start of 2007, the BWF also introduce a new tournament
structure: the BWF Super Series.
This level two tournament will stage twelve open tournaments around
the world with 32 players (half the previous limit). The players
collect points that determine whether they can play in Super Series
Final held at the year end.
Level paybtawsan tournaments will consist of Grand Prix Gold and Grand
Prix event. Top players can collect the world ranking points
and enable them to play in the BWF Super Series open tournaments.
These include the regional competitions in Asia (Badminton Asia Championships)
and Europe (European
Badminton Championships), which produce the world's best
players as well as the Pan America Badminton
Championships.
The level four tournaments, known as International Challenge,
International Series and Future Series, encourages participation by
junior players.
Records
The most powerful stroke in badminton is the smash, which is hit
steeply downwards into the opponents' midcourt. The maximum speed
of a smashed shuttlecock exceeds that of any other racquet sport
projectile. The recordings of this speed measure the initial speed
of the shuttlecock immediately after it has left the player's
racquet.
Men's doubles player Tan Boon Heong
of Malaysia set the official world smash record of 421 km/h()
in the 2009 JAPAN OPEN 2009.
The fastest smash recorded in the singles competition is
305 km/h (190 mph) by Taufik
Hidayat of Indonesia.
In September 2009, Japan player NAOKO KAWAMAE during Yonex's new
racquet test. Two weeks before that, Japan's Naoko Kawamae made a
smash of 414 km/h.
However neither of these two are comparable to tan boon heong 's
smash record for the following reasons:
- Measuring method: Camera equipment was used to measure the
speed rather than the microwave technology which is used to record
shuttlecock speed in matches.
- The smash was not hit during a match.
- The speed was recorded by Yonex rather than by badminton
officials.
Therefore those do not count as a new world record.
Chinese player Lin
Dan is the only player in badminton history to have won three
singles world championship titles having done so consecutively in
2006, 2007, and 2009.
Comparisons with other racquet sports
Badminton is frequently compared to tennis. The following is a list
of uncontentious comparisons:
- In tennis, the ball may bounce once before the player hits it;
in badminton, the rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the
floor.
- In tennis, the serve is dominant to the extent that the server
is expected to win most of his service games; a break of
service, where the server loses the game, is of major importance in
a match. In badminton, however, the serving side and receiving side
have approximately equal opportunity to win the rally.
- In tennis, the server is allowed two attempts to make a correct
serve; in badminton, the server is allowed only one attempt.
- In tennis, a let is played on service if the ball hits the net
tape; in badminton, there is no let on service.
- The tennis court is larger than the badminton court.
- Tennis racquets are about four times heavier than badminton
racquets, 10-12 ounces (approximately 284-340 grams) versus
70-105 grams. Tennis balls are more than eleven times heavier than
shuttlecocks, 57 grams versus 5 grams.
- The fastest recorded tennis stroke is Andy Roddick's serve; the fastest recorded
badminton stroke is Fu Haifeng's smash.
Comparisons of speed and athletic requirements
Statistics such as the smash speed, above, prompt badminton
enthusiasts to make other comparisons that are more contentious.
For example, it is often claimed that badminton is the fastest
racquet sport. Although badminton holds the record for the fastest
initial speed of a racket sports projectile, the shuttlecock
decelerates substantially faster than other projectiles such as
tennis balls. In turn, this qualification must be qualified by
consideration of the distance over which the shuttlecock travels: a
smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter distance than a tennis ball
during a serve. Badminton's claim as the fastest racquet sport
might also be based on reaction time requirements, but arguably
table tennis requires even faster
reaction times.
There is a strong case for arguing that badminton is more
physically demanding than tennis, but such comparisons are
difficult to make objectively due to the differing demands of the
games. Some informal studies suggest that badminton players require
much greater aerobic stamina than tennis players, but this has not
been the subject of rigorous research.
A more balanced approach suggests the following comparisons,
although these also are subject to dispute:
- Badminton, especially singles, requires substantially greater
aerobic stamina than tennis; the level of aerobic stamina required
by badminton singles is similar to squash singles, although squash may have
slightly higher aerobic requirements.
- Tennis requires greater upper body and core strength than
badminton.
- Badminton requires greater explosive leg strength than tennis,
and badminton men's doubles probably requires much greater
explosive leg strength than any other racket sport due to the
demands of performing multiple consecutive jumping smashes.
- Badminton requires much greater explosive athleticism than
tennis and somewhat greater than squash, with players required to
jump for height or distance.
- Badminton requires significantly faster reaction times than
either tennis or squash, although table tennis may require even
faster reaction times. The fastest reactions in badminton are
required in men's doubles, when returning a powerful smash.
Comparisons of technique
Badminton and tennis techniques differ substantially. The lightness
of the shuttlecock and of badminton rackets allow badminton players
to make use of the wrist and fingers much more than tennis players;
in tennis the wrist is normally held stable, and playing with a
mobile wrist may lead to injury. For the same reasons, badminton
players can generate power from a short racket swing: for some
strokes such as net kills, an elite player's swing may be less than
5 cm. For strokes that require more power, a longer swing will
typically be used, but the badminton racket swing will rarely be as
long as a typical tennis swing.
It is often asserted that power in badminton strokes comes mainly
from the wrist. This is a misconception and may be criticised for
two reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a category error: the wrist is a joint, not a
muscle; the forearm muscles control its movement. Second, wrist
movements are weak when compared to forearm or upper arm movements.
Badminton biomechanics have not been
the subject of extensive scientific study, but some studies confirm
the minor role of the wrist in power generation, and indicate that
the major contributions to power come from internal and external
rotations of the upper and lower arm. Modern coaching resources
such as the Badminton England Technique DVD reflect these
ideas by emphasising forearm rotation rather than wrist
movements.
Distinctive characteristics of the shuttlecock
The shuttlecock differs greatly from the balls used in most other
racquet sports.
Aerodynamic drag and stability
The feathers impart substantial drag, causing the shuttlecock to
decelerate greatly over distance. The shuttlecock is also extremely
aerodynamically stable: regardless of initial orientation, it will
turn to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first
orientation.
One consequence of the shuttlecock's drag is that it requires
considerable skill to hit it the full length of the court, which is
not the case for most racquet sports. The drag also influences the
flight path of a lifted (lobbed) shuttlecock: the parabola of its flight is heavily skewed so that it
falls at a steeper angle than it rises. With very high serves, the
shuttlecock may even fall vertically.
Spin
Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and
backspin in tennis), and players may slice the ball (strike it with
an angled racket face) to produce such spin; but, since the
shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, this does not apply to
badminton.
Slicing the shuttlecock so that it spins, however, does have
applications, and some are particular to badminton. (See Basic strokes for an explanation of technical
terms.)
- Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to travel in
a different direction from the direction suggested by the player's
racket or body movement. This is used to deceive opponents.
- Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to follow a
slightly curved path (as seen from above), and the deceleration
imparted by the spin causes sliced strokes to slow down more
suddenly towards the end of their flight path. This can be used to
create dropshots and smashes that dip more steeply after they pass
the net.
- When playing a netshot, slicing underneath the shuttlecock may
cause it to turn over itself (tumble) several times as it passes
the net. This is called a spinning netshot or tumbling
netshot. The opponent will be unwilling to address the
shuttlecock until it has corrected its orientation.
Due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a
slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin
is in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above when
dropping a shuttlecock. This natural spin affects certain strokes:
a tumbling netshot is more effective if the slicing action is from
right to left, rather than from left to right.
See also
References
- Cartoon taken from the John Leech
Archive which gave the artist as John Leech and the date as
1854.
- {{cite
news|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070929134044/http://www.internationalbadminton.org/archivescontent.asp?pageid={4B7714F9-45C1-4199-B1B7-5B62C57FAE1A}|title=New
Tournament Structure|date=2006-07-20|publisher=IBF}}
-
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iBp5mncI42R4crQcytni_kCHMmxA
- The Spin Doctor, Power & Precision Magazine, July 2006
External links