Badminton

• Badminton, court or lawn game played with lightweight rackets and a shuttlecock.
• Historically, the shuttlecock (also known as a “bird” or “birdie”) was a small cork hemisphere with 16 goose feathers attached and weighing about 0.17 ounce (5 grams).
• These types of shuttles may still be used in modern play, but shuttles made from synthetic materials are also allowed by the Badminton World Federation.
• The game is named for Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played about 1873.
• The roots of the sport can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, and it is closely related to the old children’s game battledore and shuttlecock.
• Badminton is derived directly from poona, which was played by British army officers stationed in India in the 1860s.
• The first unofficial all-England badminton championships for men were held in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for women was arranged the next year (1900).
• The Badminton World Federation (BWF; originally the International Badminton Federation), the world governing body of the sport, was formed in 1934.
• Badminton is also popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Denmark.
• The BWF’s first world championships were held in 1977.
• A number of regional, national, and zonal badminton tournaments are held in several countries. The best-known of these is the All-England Championships.
• Other well-known international tournaments include the Thomas Cup (donated 1939) for men’s team competition and the Uber Cup (donated 1956) for women’s team competition.
• RACKET: Used to hit the bird, the racket is shaped like a tennis racket and has strings.
• the racket is the most important tools of a player in the game, parts of the racket includes the head, throat, shaft and handle with maximum length of 27.77 inches and a width of of 9 inches. The strings of the racket are like a check board pattern which acts as the hitting surface.
• BIRD OR SHUTTLECOCK: A small ball at the front to give speed, and feathers protruding from it to help it float when it is hit high into the air. It acts like a ball in other racket games, and it sometimes called “The birdie”.
• The shuttlecock's design creates more drag as it is propelled through air due to its feathered shape. The shuttlecock is made up of a cone shape with a hard cork at its tip. The shuttle has 16 feathers attached to the base and the length of the feathers range between 2. 44 and 2.75 inches.
• 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.
• The rectangular court is 44 feet (13.4 meters) long and 17 feet (5.2 meters) wide for singles, 20 feet (6.1 meters) wide for doubles. A net 5 feet (1.5 meters) high stretches across the width of the court at its center. A clear space of 4 feet (1.3 meters) around the court is needed.
• Play consists entirely of volleying — hitting the shuttlecock back and forth across the net without letting it touch the floor or ground within the boundaries of the court.
• 7 badminton skills that you need to learn:

  A) Smash

  B) Drop

  C) Lob

  
• The right grip in holding the racket is really important to achieve control on shots while avoiding the chances of a wrist injury.
• Holding a racket is similar to a friendly handshake. Just the thumb will be comfortably placed against the wider surface of the handle grip. Remember to keep the movement friendly, avoiding tight grip. It will hinder the flexibility in motion and also might lead to wrist injuries in the long term.
• Push the index finger forward while playing forehand strokes.
• Push the thumb forward while playing backhand strokes.
• The stance is how you stand while playing badminton, both in between a rally and before the serve. A stable and correct one will bring a huge change in the results due to easier movement.
• Attacking Stance is used to get into position before playing an overhead forehand stroke.
• To stand in the attacking stance, turn your body facing the sidelines with racket leg behind and both legs shoulder-width apart. Now raise both racket and non-racket arm to generate the power to attack the shuttle on its downward trajectory
• To defend the opponent’s smash, you need to be prepared with the defensive stance. Face the body to the net and place your racket in front at waist height, slightly pointing forward. You can keep the non-racket arm as comfortable while ensuring a better balance.
• Net Stance is to be ready for the opponent’s return after playing a net shot.
• To play do the net shot, place your foot on the racket side forward while keeping non-racket foot at the back. Place the racket in front of the body, slightly above waist height while raising the non-racket arm. Shift the body weight slightly forward to be ready to pounce forward.
• Footwork plays a huge role in helping with an effective and organized movement on the court. In fact, some coaches even raise this to prime importance over other skills.
• Tips for proper footwork

  ● Always remember the base (starting point).

  ● Move only 2-3 steps backwards.

  ● Shuffle only 1 step sidewards.

  ● Move only 2-3 steps front.
• Service is among the most basic skill that you need to master in Badminton. Also, you should ensure to make it legal otherwise it might lead to penalty points.
• There can be 2 types of service in badminton, depending on the landing aim of the shuttle.
• High serve aims at the back-end corner of the opponent’s court. Ideally, a good one results in shuttle dropping steeply downwards at the back end of the court.
• A high serve is presented to opponents having ability to executing a strong smash. You can always expect a lob or a drop from your opponent as a reply to a properly executed high serve.
• Generally, it is recommended to serve the shuttle to opponent’s backhand area. This to exploit the weaker area that exists in the game of most of the players.
• The low serve aims to the front of the court. The objective is to let the shuttle fly just above the net landing in the front corner of the court.
• Smash is the most potent and powerful stroke in badminton which naturally turns out to be the most familiar term to all. The shot is basically to hit the shuttle powerfully towards the opponent’s body or downward on the court.
• A perfectly executed smash has no defense